A New Year Revolution!

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes... Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective." – G. K. Chesterton

Over the next couple of days, hundreds of millions of people around the world will engage in one of the most common annual rituals on the planet: The "New Year's Resolution." I did a Google search for "New Year's Resolution" awhile back, and 980,370 sites popped up! That's a lot of "resoluting" going on out there every year!

Personally? I don't like New Year's resolutions. I've never done them, and if I had, I never would have kept any of them.

I looked up resolution in the dictionary, and it said, "Determination with firmness and intention to change what I'm going to do." Theoretically and theologically, I actually have a problem with that.

Think about it! A resolution is supposed to change you by changing your behavior. That is actually backwards from the New Testament which reveals that your behavior is changed by an awareness of this fact: Christ has ushered in a dynamic revolution that transforms you from the inside out.

Revolution, on the other hand, is defined as "a radical change in constitution... to change completely." But the traditional pattern this time of year is to make resolutions, rather than allow revolutions. Paul had something to say about that:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:2

Over the next two weeks I am going to take you through Proverbs 30, which contains nine radical revolutionary statements. If taken seriously, they can be used by the Spirit to completely change who you are as a person. These are specific transformations that are caused by the revolution Christ has begun in your heart.

May you start this new year not with temporary resolutions that are bound to fail, but by committing to the eternal revolution that Christ is bringing about in your heart!

Holy Spirit, please take the powerful, unchanging truths of Scripture and make them alive in fresh new ways each day of this coming year. Amen.

Someone who can never repay you

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." – John Bunyan

Gifts

🙏 Prayer 4 2day!

Father, thank you for making me a part of something so precious, so awesome, as the bodily presence of the Lord. Please help each person in our church family to find his or her gifts of service and to use those gifts in ways that touch others with your grace and that bring you glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank You!

I would like to say a Huge Thank You to everyone who read's/follows my Blog! When i started my Blog earlier this year i had no idea that anyone would read it never mind follow it. I am so Blessed that you take a little time to read some of the posts i upload and i hope that you are inspired and continue to follow as i try to make it more interesting in the future.

God Bless you all! :D

More Gifts & Blessings

"What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day." – Phyllis Diller

What's the heartbeat of Christmas? God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. In the most significant gift exchange that has ever taken place, God gave first. He gave His Son and, through His Son, He gave the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has come with more gifts and more blessings than we could ever have imagined.

But it is an exchange. In order to receive this life from Him, you must give your life to Him.

God designed life to work best when everything you have is released back to Him, and put in His control. His desire is to have our lives given over fully to Him, but here's what we do: We make a deal and say, “God, I really appreciate all these amazing gifts You are willing to give. They're really great, really! But, um, I'm really not quite ready to give you all of myself yet. Here, take this!"

And we give Him the part of us that we're willing to give. All the other stuff – the battles we want to keep our claws in, the areas we want to remain king over, the things we want to possess – we try to keep for ourselves, usually with disastrous results.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:1-2

This Christmas, the best gift that you can give yourself is giving all of yourself away to Him, so that you can fully receive what He is willing to give you.

Lord Jesus, I confess that there are many aspects of me and my life that I am holding on to. These things rightly belong to You, since I belong to You, and I know in my head that I would be better off to release them to You. By the power of Your Holy Spirit in me, by the faith which You promise to give me, I offer these areas of my life to You today, that I might experience true and proper worship! Amen.

Reflect The Character of Christ

⛪ Prayer 4 2day!
"Loving God, please bless me with character as I resist those who are critical, cynical, and vengeful toward me. Please help me respond in a way that reflects the character and Lordship of Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Words of Kindness

Instead of hurling angry words
That wound and stir up strife,
Use words of kindness, filled with love,
That heal and nourish life. —Sper

Serve The Lord

 

   

   

 

 

✞ Verse 4 2day! 

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied [to the people of Israel]. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart."
—1 Samuel 12:20

Jesus - The Reason 4 The Season

A Great Facebook Cover Image!! 

Christmas is Forever Poem

Christmas is forever
Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

✞ Quote 4 2day! - The Bad Stuff!

The bad stuff will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.

God shaped vacuum

There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.

Blaise Pascal

The Paradox of our time here in History!

The Paradox of our time here in history is that we spend more but have less, we buy more but enjoy it less, we have bigger houses but smaller families, more conveniences but less time.

More medicine but less wellness, we read too little, watch TV too much and Pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. these are times of tall men but short character. steep profits and shallow relationships. 

These are days of 2 incomes but more divorce, fancier houses but broken homes. 

We have learnt how to make a living but not a life, we have added years to life but not life to years. 

We have cleaned up the air but polluted the soul!

Impressions about Christmas!

"One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons." – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Most of our impressions about Christmas revolve around concepts like "peace" and "harmony" and "unity." But the first Christmas was filled with intense contrasts. On one hand, we have Herod who is willing to murder countless innocent babies in order to save his position as king. Then there are the three Magi, the wise men from the east:

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. – Matthew 2:11

These were gifts of great monetary and symbolic value:
MYRRH was a substance used in embalming fluid. This little boy had been born to die as the Savior of mankind! So in giving that gift, the wise men said, "You are Savior, You are worthy to be trusted, we trust You fully."
INCENSE was burned in the Tabernacle and in the Temple as an act of worship to God. In giving frankincense, they were saying, "You are God, and You are worthy to be worshiped!"
GOLD was a gift given to kings. In giving the gold to Jesus, they said, "You are King, You are worthy to be followed."
There was a time when your sinful nature was inclined to do what Herod did – clinging to and defending your position as king of your own life. But now that you are in Christ, now that your sinful nature has been crucified with Him (Romans 6), now that His Holy Spirit lives within you (Romans 8), you can listen to His voice that invites you to bow down and worship the Child as Savior and King today.

Jesus, my Lord! With great joy, I follow the leading of Your Spirit in my heart today. I bow before You as my Savior and my King. May my words, thoughts, and actions all be expressions of sincere worship to You. Amen.

Epitome of the Christian religion

"If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word — prayer." —Charles Spurgeon

God Has Set Things Right

✞ Verse 4 2day! - Romans 3:21-24
The Message (MSG)

God Has Set Things Right

21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

 

Do all the good you can

Do all the good you can,
in all the ways you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.
- John Wesley

ISN'T THERE ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?!!!

“ISN'T THERE ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?!!!" – Charlie Brown

"Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know... the birth of Santa!" – Bart Simpson

I had a young lady in my office recently. In the course of our conversation, I came to the conclusion that she hadn't come to grips with God's love for her. So I looked her in the eyes as I thought of one of the foundational verses in the Bible:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." – John 3:16

"Let me tell you something, are you aware of this simple fact, that God couldn't possibly love you more than He does right now?" I asked. "That He loves you as much as a perfect God can? That He loves you perfectly, and there's nothing you can do to make Him love you more? There's nothing you can do to earn His approval; you have it. Are you aware of that? Do you realize how deeply God loves you?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and she bowed her head and started to weep. She didn't stop. She just kept crying. Our conversation ended with her thanking me and walking out, still crying. I called a few days later, just to follow up, to make sure she was okay. She said, "Pete, I cried for three days! It just finally hit me that God loves me! I finally got it! All these years, I've been sitting in church and never allowed myself to realize how deeply and passionately He loves me!"

Why Christmas? Because God loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son, sending Him into the world as a poor baby so that He could show you how to live – no, more than that – that He might be your life. He lived perfectly, died a grizzly death, shed His blood so that your sins might be removed, so that you will not perish, but spend forever with Him.

Do you get it? Have you received this gift?

Holy Spirit, today and through this season, give me the ability and the willingness to realize how deeply and passionately You love me. Amen.

The Masterpiece

The Masterpiece

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

There is a story about a wealthy man and his only son who travelled the world together collecting priceless paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and many other masters. Tragically, the son died at war while rescuing others. Distraught and lonely, the old man dreaded the upcoming Christmas day.

Christmas morning, a young soldier knocked on his door and said, “I’m a friend of your son. I’m one of the ones he rescued.” Then the soldier presented a picture he had painted of the son. Though the picture lacked genius, the brokenhearted father saw the features of his precious son and immediately valued this painting above all the masterpieces in his home. Every day, the father gazed at the portrait and told his housekeeper of his great love for it.

When the father died, the art world buzzed with excitement over the sale of his extraordinary art collection on Christmas day.

The first item offered was the painting of the son, but no one in the self-important crowd would bid on the amateurish portrait. The auctioneer insisted that the terms of the will required the portrait must be sold before any other paintings could be offered. Finally, the housekeeper, tears streaming down her cheeks, said to the auctioneer, “May I pay ten dollars for it? That is all the money I have. I knew the son, and I know how much the father treasured that portrait.” The auctioneer said, “The bid is ten dollars. Going once, going twice, gone,” and the gavel fell.

The auctioneer then announced that the auction was over. “What do you mean?” said the stunned audience. “There must be hundreds of millions of dollars of art here.” The auctioneer replied, “It is very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son gets it all.”

Like the art collectors, not everyone can see the real value of a relationship with Jesus. John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came to His own but His own received Him not. They did not accept the precious gift of God’s Son, a gift that brings with it all the blessings and love of God.

If you are not intentional about recognizing and receiving Jesus Christ, you will have nothing in the end, and there will be no negotiation of God’s terms. God’s Son may have been born in the most humble of circumstances in a manger in Bethlehem, but He is coming back in power and glory. The next time we see Jesus, things will be very different from His first coming. Not only will He be the King of kings but He will be a judge and we will be held accountable for our lives.

Read John 3:18-36 and Revelations 3:16. Clearly, there are two categories of people: those who fully accept the Son as the only means to the Father and those who don’t. People who are indifferent or neutral about the Son will miss the opportunity to live eternally with the Father in Heaven. It is not enough to believe Jesus was a good man or a prophet; James 2:19 says that even the devil believes and “trembles.”

Have you said “Yes” to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Luke 15:7 says there will be joy in Heaven when you do. Tell the Father today about your love for His Son. Ask God to protect your heart from being neutral or complacent about your devotion to Jesus. Is there someone you know who needs to acknowledge Jesus as Savior? Pray about being intentional about introducing them to the Son.

"Beautiful" by Phil Wickham

✞ Lyrics 4 2day! - "Beautiful" by Phil Wickham

When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful.

Keep Back Nothing!

✞ Quote 4 2day! 

Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom, Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

"Does Sunday Church Violate the Sabbath Commandment?"

"Does Sunday Church Violate the Sabbath Commandment?"

Hello Michael, I read your article on why Christians go to church on Sunday instead of the sabbath. Our Sunday school teacher gave us an assignment to find out how this goes along with the commandment "Remember the sabbath and keep it holy." Are we breaking this command? Is there any scripture I can share with the class that explains this?

The command to observe the Sabbath is rooted in both creation and redemption. It was a non-negotiable command for Israel under the Mosaic Covenant. However, it seems to me that this is no longer the case for Christians today, for we are now called to relate to God under the terms and conditions of the New Covenant. Hence, I personally don't think that Christians can violate this command for I do not think it is still in effect (at least not as it was under the Old Covenant).

That the Old Covenant has been made obsolete is stated explicitly in Hebrews 8:13. Paul recognizes that there will be difference of opinion among believers regarding how one observes (or does not observe) certain days like the Sabbath in Romans 14:5-6, 13. He clearly indicates that such observance is not necessary for salvation in Galatians 4:8-11. In Colossians 2:16-17 he says that we are not to judge (or let ourselves be judged) with respect to things like Sabbath day observances, for these things are but "a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Finally, the author of Hebrews reminds us of that true Sabbath rest that remains for God's people today. This, I take it, refers to a "rest" that is available to us in some respects now, but will be fully and perfectly realized only in the future, in the new heaven and new earth. Insofar as this "rest" is available to us now, it is not limited to a single day of the week, but is rather a "perpetual" sort of "rest" that we can enter by surrendering ourselves completely to the will of God and trusting wholly in what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. In other words, we cease trying to earn God's favor by what we do and we "rest" in the fact that Christ has already done this for us! Properly understood, of course, this does not mean that we cease doing good works, which we are clearly told to do (see Ephesians 2:10 and Titus 2:14). It does mean, however, that we can get off the treadmill of trying to earn God's favor by what we do (and "rest" in the fact that Christ has done this for us).

The Sabbath day rest under the Old Covenant, then, is but a type or "shadow" of this fuller "rest" that we can enjoy in Christ—both now (through faith) and in the future new heaven and new earth.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with setting aside a day for rest each week, provided that one does not think that this gains them some sort of special favor with God, favor that is somehow not available to all who trust Christ for salvation. In other words, as I understand it, a Christian is free to set aside a day for rest, but is not required to do so. All Christians, however, are clearly commanded to set aside time for worship and fellowship with other believers (see Hebrews 10:23-25). This, as I see it, is the primary purpose for Christians to set aside Sunday each week. It is to be a day for worshiping the Lord and enjoying fellowship with one another, and encouraging one another to love and good deeds.

Of course, not everyone will agree with what I've written here. But this seems to me to be the New Testament teaching about this issue.

Shalom in Christ,

Michael Gleghorn

Posted Nov. 28, 2012
© 2012 Probe Ministries

 

Joke 4 2day! - The 3 Sons

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting together for Christmas, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. 

The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.”
The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes.”
The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You remember how mom enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can’t see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. He’s one of a kind. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it.”
Soon thereafter, mom sent out her letters of thanks:
“Dear Milton,” she wrote one son, “The house you built is too huge. I live in only one room, but I have to keep the whole house clean!”
“Dear Gerald,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay at home most of the time, so I rarely use the Mercedes.”
“Dearest Donald,” she wrote to her third son, “You have the good sense to know what your Mother likes.
The chicken was Dee-licious!”

What is the Christian view of Tai Chi (TaiChi)?

Question: "What is the Christian view of Tai Chi (TaiChi)?"

Answer: Tai Chi is more specifically called Tai Chi Chuan, which can be translated as “supreme ultimate force.” Tai Chi is a martial art, though it’s often called a “moving meditation” since the movements are done slowly and deliberately, and it is taught more as a meditative and health-enhancing practice than as a martial art. Though its origins are unclear, the foundation of Tai Chi is the Taoist belief in a universal energy called chi (also spelled qi or ki depending on the language of origin). Chi is believed to be the binding life force in the universe, existing both externally and internally, moving through invisible channels in the body called meridians.

Taoism teaches that strengthening and reinforcing one’s inner chi will bring good health and long life as well as spiritual benefits. Certain breathing techniques, meditations, and bodily movements are taught to cultivate and enhance the chi. This belief is the basis of Tai Chi. There is no supreme God or Creator in Taoism; all originated from the Tao, which is an impersonal principle or source of creation.

From the Tao came yin and yang, two forces that manifested in creation. These forces appear opposite but actually are in a state of constant flux, merging with each other. The chi flows more harmoniously when yin and yang are balanced; this balance is brought about through special diets, herbs, exercises, breathing techniques, and bodily movements. Tai Chi, therefore, has a worldview at odds with the Christian worldview. Tai Chi is based on a Taoist spiritual view of the body and the chi, and how to enhance the chi, a view incompatible with how the Bible tells us we were made—in God’s image (Genesis 1:27).

Jesus Christ created and holds the world together, not the Tao or an invisible force called chi: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). Doing Tai Chi, even for physical purposes, is paying homage to a spiritual belief system at odds with God’s Word.

"Is Quantum Physics Legitimate or Spiritually Dangerous?"

"Is Quantum Physics Legitimate or Spiritually Dangerous?" by Probe Ministries

Michael, thank you so very much for your insightful articles about Reiki. My father was an excellent medical doctor and surgeon and after retiring, he was led into Reiki and he is always trying to push this on us. His three adult Christian children all have known from the start that this was not of the Lord and have rejected it. Now he is advocating Quantum Physics as the answer to life even though he claims to be a Christian. Have you written anything about Quantum Physics or can you give me just a couple of scriptural reasons why it is off-base? I imagine that they are the same as the reason for Reiki.

Thanks for your kind and encouraging letter. I'm glad to hear that the article on Reiki was helpful to you. Concerning quantum physics, this is a legitimate and highly-developed branch of contemporary physics. Any difficulties with quantum physics would not be due to the legitimate scientific work being done. However, difficulties with quantum physics do arise, and these can usually be traced back to two sources of origin.

In the first place, the vast majority of people who mention quantum physics have very little idea of what it is they're actually talking about. They may have read a popular-level book or two on the subject (or they may not have even done that). With this bit of new knowledge they may then make all kinds of far-fetched and dubious claims. The problem is, they usually don't know what they are talking about and it is difficult for anyone to challenge them (because not many people have a deep enough knowledge of this important field of physics to do so). In particular, quantum physics has been embraced by many non-Christian Eastern religious movements (or religious movements influenced by such philosophies) as a means of showing that physical reality is paradoxical, or illogical, etc. This often fits in with their religious claims, but many of these views are based on misunderstandings, misappropriations, and misinterpretations of quantum physics—and hence are not to be accepted uncritically.

Secondly (and this is very important), there are MANY DIFFERENT interpretations of what the mathematics and experimental science behind quantum physics is actually telling us about the nature of physical reality. This is terribly important to understand, but sadly, most people are not aware of this. Many of the "wild and crazy" ideas which people propound with an appeal to quantum physics are based on a particular interpretation of the mathematical and physical evidence. But the problem with this is that there are numerous competing interpretations, each one of which adequately accounts for the data, but many of which would NOT result in the same strange views of the physical world. And here's the kicker: we do NOT know which interpretation is the right one! Hence, as you can easily imagine, many of the strange ideas which are based on a particular interpretation of quantum physics may be incorrect, simply because the interpretation upon which these ideas are based is incorrect!

For more on quantum physics from an informed Christian perspective, please check out some of William Lane Craig's materials on his website here. These are the search results from "quantum physics" on his website. Craig is a world class Christian philosopher and theologian, who is intimately acquainted with the issues in contemporary physics. You might also want to refer your father to Craig's work. His website has scholarly and popular-level articles, podcasts, debates with leading atheists, etc. I would highly recommend Craig's work.

I hope this is helpful. May the Lord richly bless you in your service for Him!

Shalom in Christ,

Michael Gleghorn

Posted Nov. 28, 2012
© 2012 Probe Ministries

 

Love Without Giving?

✞ Quote 4 2day! 

You may give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.

I'd love you unconditionally, but you just don't deserve it

"I'd love you unconditionally, but you just don't deserve it." – Unknown

Jesus saw through the surface to the soul. That's the first reason that He loved in such an amazing way. Whether it was a leper, or a prostitute, or an adulterer, He seemed to naturally look past outward appearances and blatant behavior. He looked deep into the human soul, and what He saw there, He loved.

Jesus also looked past people's issues and touched the soul. He didn't even try to fix them before He had connected with them in a way that validated their value, even in the midst of their sin. Over and over, He loved first.

Finally, Jesus risked everything to touch the human soul. His reputation as a holy man was on the chopping block the night He let the prostitute anoint Him with perfume and wipe His feet with her tears and hair. And how about the physical diseases He risked by reaching out to touch those who were sick? Yeah, He put His own health on the line to heal them and love them.

That's radical stuff. The source of such audacity is not just a decision or an act of the will. It is an extension of unity with God.

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me… because you loved me before the creation of the world." – John 17:22-24

When we consciously let Christ live through us to love like this, His radical love brands us as authentically Christian and gives glory to God.

Is it possible that we don't love as we should because we don't recognize how He could love through us?

Holy Spirit, today, I ask that You would give me one opportunity to experience Your love flowing through me like never before. You can love through me like I could never love on my own – the love that sees, the love that touches, and the love that risks. Please, do that in a radical way through me today. Amen.

The Fashionable god of Darkness!

Verse 4 2day!

2 Corinthians 4:3-4
The Message (MSG)

3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.

 

Never confuse motion with action!

"Never confuse motion with action." – Benjamin Franklin

Throughout Scripture and history, and even today, we come across men and women with faith that launches them into action – people who don't just know about God, they walk with Him.

John Mackay, in his A Preface to Christian Theology, illustrates two kinds of Christians: Picture a balcony on the front of a Spanish house with a road that passes below it. There are people traveling on the path below (let's call them "travelers") and another group of people are gathered above on the balcony (let's call them "balconeers").

The balconeers are mulling about, listening in, and making critical comments about the travelers below. They may discuss the twists and the turns in the road, and are quick to point out when someone stumbles. The travelers, by contrast, wrestle with real problems and ask questions like, Which way am I supposed to go? How do I do this journey anyway? How can I help my fellow traveler when he falls?

… We know that "We all possess knowledge." But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. – 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Christian balconeers muse about knowledge, wondering, “How can there be one God yet three persons?" Or, "When is Jesus coming back?" But they are only onlookers – observers. Christian travelers are actively involved in the journey.

The traveler asks, How do I honor and love and worship this three in one God who is so powerfully moving in my life as I journey along this path? How do I allow the Spirit of Christ, who lives in me today, to guide me and live through me in a way that extends His love to others? Those are two totally different kinds of questions.

The bottom line is this: True life is a traveler's experience; not a balconeer's existence! I'm all for good theology and thinking rightly about God – it's absolutely critical. But it's not enough. Loving God and being known by Him save us from puffed-up arrogance.

God, make me a traveler. Guide me through each step of my life journey today, that I might experience You and love You more. Amen.

Christmas Joke - Perfume?

After being away on business for a week before Christmas, Tom thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift.

"How about some perfume?" he asked the cosmetics clerk. She showed him a bottle costing $50.

"That's a bit much," said Tom, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.

"Thats still quite a bit," Tom groused.

Growing disgusted, the clerk brought out a tiny $15 bottle.

Tom grew agitated, "What I mean," he said, "is I'd like to see something real cheap."

So the clerk handed him a mirror.

 

Dealing with Doubt!

Help! My Doubts Scare Me!

Have you ever doubted your faith? We all have doubts from time to time. We may doubt that our boss really hit a hole-in-one at the golf course last weekend, or that our best friend really caught a fish as big as the one he claimed to catch, or that the strange looking guy on that light night TV show was really abducted by alien beings from a distant galaxy! Sometimes the things we doubt aren't really that important, but other times they are. And the more important something is to us, the more personally invested we are in it, the scarier it can be to start having doubts about it. So when Christians begin to have doubts about something as significant as the truth of their Christian faith, it's quite understandable that this might worry or even frighten them.

Reflecting on this issue in The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel wrote:

For many Christians, merely having doubts of any kind can be scary. They wonder whether their questions disqualify them being a follower of Christ. They feel insecure because they're not sure whether it's permissible to express uncertainty about God, Jesus, or the Bible. So they keep their questions to themselves—and inside, unanswered, they grow and fester . . . until they eventually succeed in choking out their faith.{1}

So what can we do if we find ourselves struggling with doubts about the truth of Christianity? Why do such doubts arise? And how can we rid ourselves of these taunting Goliaths?

First, we must always remember that sooner or later we'll probably all have to wrestle with doubts about our faith. As Christian philosopher William Lane Craig observes, "Any Christian who is intellectually engaged and reflecting about his faith will inevitably face the problem of doubt."{2} Doubts can arise for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes they're largely intellectual. We might doubt that the Bible is really inspired by God or that Jesus was really born of a virgin. But doubts can take other forms as well. If a person has experienced great sorrow or disappointment, such as personal wounds from family or friends, the loss of a job, a painful divorce, the death of a loved one, or the loss of health, they may be seriously tempted to doubt the goodness, love, and care of their heavenly Father.{3}

Whenever they come and whatever form they take, we must each deal honestly with our doubts. To ignore them is to court spiritual disaster. But facing them can lead ultimately to a deeper faith. As Christian minister Lynn Anderson has said, "A faith that's challenged by adversity or tough questions . . . is often a stronger faith in the end."{4}

It's Not All in Your Head!

Sometimes people have sincere doubts about the truth of Christianity, intellectual obstacles that hinder them from placing their trust in Christ. In such cases, Christians have an obligation to respond to the person's doubts and make a humble and thoughtful defense for the truth of Christianity. Nevertheless, as Craig observes, it's important to realize that "doubt is never a purely intellectual problem." Like it or not, there's always a "spiritual dimension to the problem that must be recognized."{5} Because of this, sometimes a person's objections to Christianity are really just a smokescreen, an attempt to cover up the real reason for their rejection of Christ, which is often an underlying moral or spiritual issue.

I once heard a story about a Christian apologist who spoke at a university about the evidence for Christianity. Afterward, a student approached him and said, "I honestly didn't expect this to happen, but you satisfactorily answered all my objections to Christianity." The apologist was a bit startled by such a frank admission, but he quickly recovered himself and said, "Well that's great! Why not give your life to Christ right now, then?" But the student said, "No. I'm not willing to do that. I would have to change the way I'm living, and I'm just not ready to do that right now."

In this case all the student's reasons for doubting the Christian faith had, by his own admission, been satisfactorily answered. What was really holding him back were not his doubts about the truth of Christianity, but a desire to live life on his own terms. To put it bluntly, he didn't want God meddling in his affairs. He didn't want to be morally accountable to some ultimate authority. The truth is that a person's intellectual objections to Christianity are rarely the whole story. As Christian scholar Ravi Zacharias observed, "A man rejects God neither because of intellectual demands nor because of the scarcity of evidence. A man rejects God because of a moral resistance that refuses to admit his need for God."{6}

Unfortunately, Christians aren't immune to doubting their faith for similar reasons. I know of a young man who had converted to Christianity, but who's now raising various objections to it. But when one looks beneath the surface, one sees that he's currently involved in an immoral lifestyle. In order to continue living as he wants, without being unduly plagued by a guilty conscience, he must call into question the truth of Christianity. For the Bible tells him plainly that he's disobeying God. Of course, ultimately no one is immune to doubts about Christianity, so we'll now consider some ways to guard our hearts and minds.

I Believe, Help My Unbelief!

As He came down the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd of people. A father had brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus' disciples, but they were not able to cast the demon out. In desperation the father appealed to Jesus, "If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" Jesus answered, "If You can! All things are possible to him who believes." The father responded, "I do believe; help my unbelief."{7}

Can you identify with the father in this story? I know I can. Oftentimes as Christians we find that our faith is in precisely the same state as this father's. We genuinely believe, but we need help with our unbelief. It's always been an encouragement to me that after the father's admission of a faith mixed with doubt, Jesus nonetheless cast out the demon and healed the man's son.{8} But of course no Christian should be content to remain in this state. If we want to grow in our faith and rid ourselves of doubts, what are some positive steps we can take to accomplish this?

Well, in the first place, it's helpful to be familiar with the "principle of displacement." As Sue "Archimedes" Bohlin, one of my colleagues, has written:

The Bible teaches the principle of "displacement." That is, rather than trying to make thoughts shoo away, we are told to replace them with what is good, true, and perfect (Phil. 4:8). As the truth comes in the lies are displaced—much like when we fill a bathtub too full of water, and when we get in, our bodies displace the water, which flows out over the top of the tub.{9}

Once we grasp this principle, a number of steps for dealing with doubt quickly become evident. For one thing, we can memorize and meditate upon Scripture. We can also listen attentively to good Christian music. Paul speaks to the importance of both of these in Colossians 3:16: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

In addition, we can read good Christian books that provide intelligent answers to some of the questions we might be asking. Great Christian scholars have addressed almost every conceivable objection to the truth of Christianity. If you have nagging doubts about some aspect of your faith, there's almost certainly a work of Christian scholarship that speaks to it in detail. Finally, we must never forget that this is a spiritual battle. So let's remember to put on the full armor of God so we can stand firm in the midst of it!{10}

Faith and Reason

How can we know if Christianity is really true? Is it by reason, or evidence, or mystical experience? Dr. Craig has an answer to this question that you might find a bit surprising.{11} He distinguishes between knowing Christianity is true and showing that it's true. Ideally, one attempts to show that Christianity is true with good arguments and evidence. But Craig doesn't think that this is how we know our faith is true. Rather, he believes that we can know our faith is true because "God's Spirit makes it evident to us that our faith is true."{12}

Consider Paul's statement in Romans 8:16, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Since every believer is indwelt by God's Spirit, every believer also receives the Spirit's testimony that he is one of God's children. This is sometimes called the "assurance of salvation." Dr. Craig comments on the significance of this:

Salvation entails that God exists, that Christ atoned for our sins . . . and so forth, so that if you are assured of your salvation, then you must be assured of . . . these other truths as well. Hence, the witness of the Holy Spirit gives the believer an immediate assurance that his faith is true.{13}

Now this is remarkable. For it means we can know that Christianity is true, wholly apart from arguments, simply by attending to the witness of the Holy Spirit. And this is so not only for believers but for unbelievers, too. For the Spirit convicts the unbelieving world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, particularly the sin of unbelief.{14} So when we're confronted with objections to Christianity that we can't answer, we needn't worry. First, answers are usually available if one knows where to look. But second, the witness of the Spirit trumps any objections we might encounter.

Consider an illustration from the Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga. Suppose I'm accused of stealing a document out of a colleague's office. Suppose I have a motive, an opportunity, and a history of doing such things. Suppose further that someone thought they saw me lurking around my colleague's office just before the document went missing. There's much evidence against me. But in fact, I didn't steal the document. I was on a walk at the time. Now should I doubt my innocence since the evidence is against me? Of course not! For I know I'm not guilty!{15}

Similarly, writes Dr. Craig, "I needn't be shaken when objections come along that I can't answer."{16} For my faith isn't ultimately based on arguments, but on the witness of God's Spirit.

Stepping into the Light

We've seen that both Christians and non-Christians can have doubts about the truth of Christianity. We've also seen that such doubts are never just an intellectual issue; there's always a spiritual dynamic that's involved as well. But since we'll probably never be able to fully resolve every single doubt we might experience, I would like to conclude by suggesting one final way to make our doubts flee before us, much as roaches flee to their hidden lairs when one turns on the light!

In John 7:17 Jesus says, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." Here, Jesus frankly encourages us to put His teachings to the test and see for ourselves whether He really speaks for God or not. As biblical scholar Merrill Tenney comments, "Spiritual understanding is not produced solely by learning facts or procedures, but rather it depends on obedience to known truth. Obedience to God's known will develops discernment between falsehood and truth."{17} Are we really serious about dealing with our lingering doubts? If so, Jesus says that if we resolutely choose to do God's will, we can know if His teaching is really from God!

Sadly, however, many of us will never take Jesus up on His challenge. No matter how loudly we might claim to want to rid ourselves of doubt, the truth is that many of us just aren't willing to do God's will. But if you are, then Jesus says that "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."{18} In other words, we can know by experience that Jesus is from God, that His teachings are true, and that He really is who He claimed to be!

As Christian philosopher Dallas Willard observes, the issue ultimately comes down to what we really want:

The Bible says that if you seek God with all your heart, then you will surely find him. Surely find him. It's the person who wants to know God that God reveals himself to. And if a person doesn't want to know God—well, God has created the world and the human mind in such a way that he doesn't have to.{19}

The psalmist encourages us to "taste and see that the Lord is good."{20} If we do, we can know not only that God is good, but also that He exists. And even if we still have some lingering doubts and unanswered questions in the back of our minds, as we surely will, they'll gradually fade into utter insignificance as we become more intimately acquainted with Him who loves us and who reconciled us to Himself through the death of His Son!{21}

Notes

1. Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2000), 316.
2. William Lane Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2003), 31.
3. Lynn Anderson, interviewed in Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith, 322.
4. Ibid., 326.
5. Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers, 33.
6. Ravi Zacharias, quoted in Strobel, The Case for Faith, 343. See also John 3:19-21.
7. Mark 9:14-24.
8. See Mark 9:25-29.
9. Sue Bohlin, "I'm Having a Terrible Battle in My Mind," Probe Ministries, www.probe.org/probe-answers-e-mail/christian-life/im-having-a-terrible-battle-in-my-mind.html.
10. See Ephesians 6:10-20.
11. This section is largely just a summary of the discussion of faith and reason in Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers, 35-39.
12. Ibid., 35.
13. Ibid., 36.
14. See John 16:7-11.
15. Alvin Plantinga, "The Foundations of Theism: A Reply," Faith and Philosophy 3 (1986): 310; cited in Craig, Hard Questions, Real Answers, 38-39.
16. Ibid., 39.
17. Merrill C. Tenney, "The Gospel of John," in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 84.
18. John 8:32.
19. Dallas Willard, quoted in Strobel, The Case for Faith, 352.
20. Psalm 34:8.
21. See 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

© 2007 Probe Ministries

 

Letters From HOme

The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.
- Augustine

The Bible

“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”—Dwight L. Moody

Soul Hungry for God

A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.
-- Leonard Ravenhill

 

People should fall in love with their eyes closed

Experiencing Life Today by Pete Briscoe

“People should fall in love with their eyes closed.” —Andy Warhol

In the modern Western world, you will probably live your whole life and never see anything like him: a leper. Peeling skin and past hope. Destitute and dead to society, rejected by the reality of this devastating disease that robbed him of his family, his friends, his world.

Leprosy was known as “death by inches.” The nerve endings would numb, ulcers open on the extremities causing decay. Imagine it: Rotting fingers that would fall off and blotches of skin all over your discolored, reeking body.

Nobody would have blamed Jesus for walking away from a leper—this unsightly mess, this ugly outcast, this unclean oddity. But He didn't.
When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. —Matthew 8:1-3

The outcast was loved by the Prince. Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” But how has Jesus loved us? What does this unique “Jesus love” look like?

Jesus believes that inside every ugly body, and inside every beautiful body, and inside every average body, rests an eternal being. One day we will shed this shell, and spend eternity in one of two places, either with Him or without Him. He looks at every single person and says, “I don't care what you look like. I don't care about your economic status. You are an eternal being that needs ministering to.”

That's “Jesus love.” And that is how your love, in Him, should see the world—blind to physical, overlooking the outside, because that’s what Jesus does for us every day. That is how He loves you and that is how He can work through you to love others.

Loving Savior, thank You for accepting me, just the way I am. Your love is blind to all of my faults and ugly spots. I pray that You would work through me to love others deeply, looking past the surface. Amen.

Don't Believe Like the Demons Believe!

i have been attending an Alpha course for the last few weeks and i have been struggling to put into words how, once you have asked Jesus to take over your life and the experience of change that happens from the inside and things that you were doing just seem wrong or just not funny anymore! So when i read this article by Probe Ministries i just had to share it! :D

Don't Believe Like the Demons Believe!

One of our pastors shares a favorite story: a young man in Sweden, while trying to get rid of the watermark on his trial software so he could use it illegally, did some online research that led him to a YouTube film clip from our church (Watermark Community Church) making the case for waiting to have sex before marriage. The twenty—something had never heard of such a thing, and while it sounded crazy to him, he continued to watch more clips, which intrigued him further, and he did more research that led him to the conclusion, "Wait a minute, there's something really different about these people."

So he called the pastor. From Sweden. "Hey man, I don't know your God, never heard of your Jesus, but I want to know Him. I've been tracking with you guys online, watched a ton of sermons, and I want to know that God." J.P. led him to the Lord, and he trusted Christ over the phone in Swedish.

He called again some time later. "Hey, we always go out and get drunk, and I'm having a hard time doing that all of a sudden. Yeah, we always pride ourselves on taking some girl home that we don't know, and all of a sudden that doesn't feel right to me. What's wrong with me? This isn't any fun anymore. Something happened!"

That's what lifechange looks like. That's the kind of transformation that happens when someone puts their trust in Jesus Christ and surrenders their heart and their life to a new kind of supernatural God—life. The New Testament talks about two kinds of life—the merely physical, and the supernatural, eternal, abundant life Jesus said He came to bring us (John 10:10). This eternal life invades our merely physical life.

I've been engaging in an email conversation with a dear man who is wondering why he hasn't experienced any lifechange stories like the new Swedish Christian. When I asked his understanding of what it means to be a Christian, he indicated he had prayed a prayer that Christians had told him to pray. But nothing had happened, nothing had changed. In decades. When I asked him who he thinks Jesus is, he said whoever Christians told him He was. He's now considering that all this time, he hasn't been a Christian after all, and I think he's right.

His dilemma illustrates a heartbreaking truth: there are a lot of people who think they are Christians because they have prayed a prayer or they mentally assent to some spiritual truths. But then they don't see anything different in their lives, because they have been offered a false gospel of "say this prayer" or "believe these things" and they think they've got their going—to—heaven ticket punched. But they continue to live the same way, simply adding Jesus to their mental cubbyholes, ready to call on Him at the moment of death.

The people who saw radical changes in their lives in the New Testament were those who opened themselves to being invaded by Jesus Christ's startlingly different, supernaturally powerful eternal life. As the true gospel spread, fueled by God's Spirit manifested through Jesus' lifechange in these people, the world was changed forever. I love how Dallas Willard writes:

So, C.S. Lewis writes, our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and "trying to carry it out." Rather, "The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to 'inject' His kind of life and thought, His Zoe [life], into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin." (The Divine Conspiracy, San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998, p. 20)

Why do so many people not experience the kind of lifechange of our Swedish friend? I respectfully (and, to be honest, somewhat fearfully) submit that their belief is that of demons. They believe the same thing the demons subscribe to, but it's not a saving, life—changing kind of faith. Biblical faith is about trusting our entire self into Jesus' hands, not merely nodding in intellectual assent or saying the words of a prayer. James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear" (emphasis mine).

"I believe in God." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus is God's Son." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus rose from the dead." So do the demons.

What the demons don't do is repent, turning 180 degrees from going their own way to surrender to Jesus, receive His love, and follow Him in obedience. They don't entrust themselves into Jesus' care. They don't receive Jesus into the core of their being (John 1:12), as a response to Jesus drawing them into the core of His heart.

But we can. We must.

Biblical Christianity is about relationship. The Father, Son and Spirit invite us into Their circle of mutual love and affection, glory and grace. Jesus made it possible for us to be reconciled to God by taking our sin, that horrible barrier to relationship with His Father, out of the way at the cross. Biblical Christianity—being "injected" with eternal life—is SO not about mere intellectual assent or praying a prayer. It's about surrendering to an amazing love and an amazing relationship.

Make sure your faith is about trust, and surrender, and joining the circle of God's family. Make sure your faith is so much more than what the demons believe!

Don't Believe Like the Demons Believe! Don't Believe Like the Demons Believe!

i have been attending an Alpha course for the last few weeks and i have been struggling to put into words how, once you have asked Jesus to take over your life and the experience of change that happens from the inside and things that you were doing just seem wrong or just not funny anymore! So when i read this article by Probe Ministries i just had to share it! :D

Don't Believe Like the Demons Believe!

One of our pastors shares a favorite story: a young man in Sweden, while trying to get rid of the watermark on his trial software so he could use it illegally, did some online research that led him to a YouTube film clip from our church (Watermark Community Church) making the case for waiting to have sex before marriage. The twenty—something had never heard of such a thing, and while it sounded crazy to him, he continued to watch more clips, which intrigued him further, and he did more research that led him to the conclusion, "Wait a minute, there's something really different about these people."

So he called the pastor. From Sweden. "Hey man, I don't know your God, never heard of your Jesus, but I want to know Him. I've been tracking with you guys online, watched a ton of sermons, and I want to know that God." J.P. led him to the Lord, and he trusted Christ over the phone in Swedish.

He called again some time later. "Hey, we always go out and get drunk, and I'm having a hard time doing that all of a sudden. Yeah, we always pride ourselves on taking some girl home that we don't know, and all of a sudden that doesn't feel right to me. What's wrong with me? This isn't any fun anymore. Something happened!"

That's what lifechange looks like. That's the kind of transformation that happens when someone puts their trust in Jesus Christ and surrenders their heart and their life to a new kind of supernatural God—life. The New Testament talks about two kinds of life—the merely physical, and the supernatural, eternal, abundant life Jesus said He came to bring us (John 10:10). This eternal life invades our merely physical life.

I've been engaging in an email conversation with a dear man who is wondering why he hasn't experienced any lifechange stories like the new Swedish Christian. When I asked his understanding of what it means to be a Christian, he indicated he had prayed a prayer that Christians had told him to pray. But nothing had happened, nothing had changed. In decades. When I asked him who he thinks Jesus is, he said whoever Christians told him He was. He's now considering that all this time, he hasn't been a Christian after all, and I think he's right.

His dilemma illustrates a heartbreaking truth: there are a lot of people who think they are Christians because they have prayed a prayer or they mentally assent to some spiritual truths. But then they don't see anything different in their lives, because they have been offered a false gospel of "say this prayer" or "believe these things" and they think they've got their going—to—heaven ticket punched. But they continue to live the same way, simply adding Jesus to their mental cubbyholes, ready to call on Him at the moment of death.

The people who saw radical changes in their lives in the New Testament were those who opened themselves to being invaded by Jesus Christ's startlingly different, supernaturally powerful eternal life. As the true gospel spread, fueled by God's Spirit manifested through Jesus' lifechange in these people, the world was changed forever. I love how Dallas Willard writes:

So, C.S. Lewis writes, our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and "trying to carry it out." Rather, "The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to 'inject' His kind of life and thought, His Zoe [life], into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin." (The Divine Conspiracy, San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998, p. 20)

Why do so many people not experience the kind of lifechange of our Swedish friend? I respectfully (and, to be honest, somewhat fearfully) submit that their belief is that of demons. They believe the same thing the demons subscribe to, but it's not a saving, life—changing kind of faith. Biblical faith is about trusting our entire self into Jesus' hands, not merely nodding in intellectual assent or saying the words of a prayer. James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear" (emphasis mine).

"I believe in God." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus is God's Son." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world." So do the demons.

"I believe Jesus rose from the dead." So do the demons.

What the demons don't do is repent, turning 180 degrees from going their own way to surrender to Jesus, receive His love, and follow Him in obedience. They don't entrust themselves into Jesus' care. They don't receive Jesus into the core of their being (John 1:12), as a response to Jesus drawing them into the core of His heart.

But we can. We must.

Biblical Christianity is about relationship. The Father, Son and Spirit invite us into Their circle of mutual love and affection, glory and grace. Jesus made it possible for us to be reconciled to God by taking our sin, that horrible barrier to relationship with His Father, out of the way at the cross. Biblical Christianity—being "injected" with eternal life—is SO not about mere intellectual assent or praying a prayer. It's about surrendering to an amazing love and an amazing relationship.

Make sure your faith is about trust, and surrender, and joining the circle of God's family. Make sure your faith is so much more than what the demons believe!

Well-adjusted??

Word For Today by UCB Media

'Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it

without...thinking...' Romans 12:2
A man walking into a bank held the door open for the lady behind him. Instead of thanking him, she said, 'You don't have to hold the door because I'm a woman.' Smiling, he replied, 'I'm not doing it because you're a woman, I'm doing it because I'm a gentleman.' As believers we do what we do because of who we are 'in Christ', not because of how society thinks we should act. John says, '...The Holy Spirit...lives within...so [we] don't need anyone to teach [us] what is true...' (1John 2:27 NLT). In his book 'Hope Again', Chuck Swindoll says: 'In the Marine Corps...our troopship carried us...onto Japanese soil...For many of us, it was our first visit to a foreign country. We were surging with excitement...Our company commander called us together...and...said..."Remember, for the first time in your lives, you're the foreigners. This isn't your country or your culture...you're the minority. These aren't your fellow citizens; they don't speak your language. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you...Act in a way that the Japanese people will gain a good impression of your country."...As Christians,...our citizenship is in heaven...We belong to the kingdom of God...We need to be on our best behaviour, otherwise people will get a distorted perception of what our homeland is like...Our earthly culture is pagan to the core...God left us here for a purpose...to demonstrate what it's like to be a member of another country, to have a citizenship in another land, that we might create a desire for others to emigrate.' Think about it!

Well-adjusted??

Word Fot Today by UCB Media

'Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it

without...thinking...' Romans 12:2
A man walking into a bank held the door open for the lady behind him. Instead of thanking him, she said, 'You don't have to hold the door because I'm a woman.' Smiling, he replied, 'I'm not doing it because you're a woman, I'm doing it because I'm a gentleman.' As believers we do what we do because of who we are 'in Christ', not because of how society thinks we should act. John says, '...The Holy Spirit...lives within...so [we] don't need anyone to teach [us] what is true...' (1John 2:27 NLT). In his book 'Hope Again', Chuck Swindoll says: 'In the Marine Corps...our troopship carried us...onto Japanese soil...For many of us, it was our first visit to a foreign country. We were surging with excitement...Our company commander called us together...and...said..."Remember, for the first time in your lives, you're the foreigners. This isn't your country or your culture...you're the minority. These aren't your fellow citizens; they don't speak your language. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you...Act in a way that the Japanese people will gain a good impression of your country."...As Christians,...our citizenship is in heaven...We belong to the kingdom of God...We need to be on our best behaviour, otherwise people will get a distorted perception of what our homeland is like...Our earthly culture is pagan to the core...God left us here for a purpose...to demonstrate what it's like to be a member of another country, to have a citizenship in another land, that we might create a desire for others to emigrate.' Think about it!

Amazing Grace

Word For Today by UCB Media

'Do it with the strength God provides.' 1 Peter 4:11

William Wilberforce grew up as a child of privilege, attending Cambridge University. Two weeks after his twenty-first birthday he was elected to Parliament where he became a brilliant orator and politician. Then he met John Newton, author of the hymn 'Amazing Grace.' A former slave ship captain, Newton had found Christ, repented of his old life and become a minister. Upon meeting Newton, seeds were sown in Wilberforce's heart that were destined to change history. In 1787, Wilberforce initiated a campaign to make Great Britain aware of the atrocities of slavery and vote for its abolition. It was a fierce fight. Besides politicians and industrialists, religious leaders who had their own slaves opposed him. From his deathbed John Wesley wrote to Wilberforce: 'If God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O, be not weary in well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.' Wilberforce persevered because he knew what was at stake: the lives of millions of people. Finally, on February 23, 1807, the Slave Trade Act outlawing traffic in slaves was passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 283 to 16. Twenty-six years later, near the end of Wilberforce's life, slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. Shortly thereafter, it was abolished in the United States. How did it happen? Because one man decided to live by the principle, '...through love serve one another' (Galatians 5:13 NKJV).

The First Too….

The first to apologise is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.

A Valley Full of Bones!

"Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for, because unless we stand for something we shall fall for anything." —Peter Marshall

There is nothing like a vivid word picture to drive home the life-changing truth of the Gospel. Right after God promised that He would give us new hearts and fill us with His Spirit, He gave Ezekiel a strange vision to bring this spiritual truth visually alive.

A valley full of bones—piles of them, dry and dead. Then God gives words to the prophet to speak over the bones before them:

"I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord." —Ezekiel 37:5-6

Ezekiel spoke as commanded and tendons, flesh, and skin appeared on the bones. Then God told Ezekiel to speak again over the lifeless corpses:

"Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army. —Ezekiel 37:9-10

What a picture! Is there any question why Paul would include the Gospel of peace as a critical element of spiritual armor? Is there any question why Satan would want to get us to minimalize this aspect of the Good News?

You get the picture: a vast army, once dead, now being brought to life… a vision of the new covenant where we are given a new heart, we become a new creation, and God in His infinite grace places Himself, by His Spirit, into us so that we can enjoy the presence of Him forever.

This, my friends, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth that Paul tells us to stand firm upon.

Dear God, will You give me a clear picture of this vision as well? Open my eyes! Allow me to see that we are a vast army of formerly dead bones, brought to life through forgiveness and the filling of the Holy Spirit, now strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, protected by the full armor of God, taking our stand against the devil's schemes. Amen.

More than just an instantaneous conversion

Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion; it is like a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.

Billy Graham

Why do they say Amen?

Q: Why do they say 'Amen' at the end of a prayer instead of 'Awomen'?
A: The same reason they sing Hymns instead of Hers!

Don't let anyone look down on you

Word For Today by UCB Media

'Don't let anyone look down on you.' 1 Timothy 4:12

You shouldn't be overlooked because of your age, your gender, your nationality, your education or your financial status. People will try to put you down, but if you trust God He will lift you up. Timothy started preaching in his teens. He became Paul's travelling companion, which was no small honour. But in those days society said you didn't come into maturity until you were thirty, therefore Timothy wasn't qualified for leadership. Since Timothy was facing criticism, Paul wrote, 'Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young.' With God it's not the length of your life that qualifies you, but the depth of it. Look at Timothy's credentials: 'From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures' (2Timothy 3:15 NKJV). Timothy was nurtured in God's Word and grounded in the truth. 'When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also' (2Timothy 1:5 NKJV). So Paul writes to the Philippian church and says: 'I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly...For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel' (Philippians 2:19-22 NKJV). The right to work in God's service is not determined by your years on earth, but by your experience with God, your growth in grace and in His Word.

Conquer evil by doing good

Word For Today by UCB Media

'Conquer evil by doing good.' Romans 12:21

It's easy to forget why God saved you, what He's called you to do, and how you're supposed to live. So here's a memo from heaven: 'Don't just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble and prayerful always. When God's children are in need, you be the one to help them out. If someone mistreats you, pray that God will bless him. When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Work happily together. Don't try to act big. Don't try to get into the good graces of important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folks. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone will see you are honest clear through. Don't quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for He has said that He will repay those who deserve it. Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be heaping coals of fire on his head. In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. Don't let evil get the upper hand but conquer evil by doing good' (v. 9-21 TLB).

True Christian Sandles!!

"He [Jesus] brought the good news that God's promised rule of deliverance had arrived. To experience the kingdom Jesus preached is to experience God's presence. Jesus died so His work could clear the way for a fresh work of God's grace." —Dr. Darrell Bock

Today we call them our Tevas, Keens, and Crocs. The Roman soldiers called them their caligae. The toes were open, kind of like sandals, but underneath there was a thick sole with nails and spikes and stuff pounded through them—golf shoes for gladiators, flip-flops for real men. Why wear something like that? Because if you have slippery sandals on when you go to war and things get personal in hand-to-hand combat, it could cost you your life.

Paul probably had these caligae in mind when he was giving battle instructions to the Ephesian Christians:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Stand firm then... with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. —Ephesians 6:10, 11, 14, 15

Why do we stand firm on the Gospel? Because Satan is coming after us. He is angry, ruthless, deceptive, and cunning. We need to be able to stand firm on the Gospel (which means "good news").

But what is this good news Gospel message? It's usually some sort of a presentation about being saved from sin so that we can go to heaven. I'm all for that. But in Scripture, the message of forgiveness never stands alone. We are always forgiven for a reason—forgiveness is a means to an end that God had planned from eternity past—that we might experience His presence and experience the fresh work of God's grace.

Heavenly Father, show me the incredible full picture of good news revealed in Scripture. I want to stand firm, Lord, against the attacks of Satan. Show me the full Gospel that stabilizes my feet! Amen.

The Delete Button

Word Fot Today - by UCB Medi

'Bless the Lord...who forgives all your [sins].' Psalm 103:2-3

We tend to forgive others more easily than we forgive ourselves. This is especially so when we fail in a major area like a marriage or career, or our actions have hurt others, or our habits have hurt us, or we know we are not doing what we should. So what should you do? 1) Acknowledge it. Don't be afraid to confess what you've done. You're not unique. You're not the first, and you won't be the last to fail. Once you've obtained God's forgiveness, get the support of a trusted friend. 'Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much' (James 5:16 NKJV). 2) Delete it. Often it's not the offence itself, but the guilt and stress associated with remembering our actions that make us feel bad. Our reaction is the problem! Continually revisiting our failures doesn't help at all, and it disappoints God. So catch yourself doing it-and hit the delete button! Focus on the fact that God has forgiven you, then put it behind you. 'In Him we have...the forgiveness of sins...' (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV). 3) Replace it. Instead of guilt, choose gratitude. That's not hard to do; just begin to reflect on God's goodness. That's what David did: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies' (Psalm 103:2-4 NKJV). When you start to look for them, you'll find lots of things to thank God for.

Pain For Gain!

‎"God uses everything in our past, however painful. We gain experience through suffering. We can use our pain for someone else's gain."

2 Kinds of people

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, Thy will be done, and those to whom God says, in the end, Thy will be done. All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.

What it means to Hurt

Word For Today by UCB Media

'I remember you in my prayers at all times.' Romans 1:9-10

One Bible teacher writes: 'We don't look, act, or dress alike. We have different tastes in food, books, cars and music. We work at different jobs...enjoy different hobbies ...but one thing we have in common. We know what it means to hurt. Suffering is universal. Tears are the same for Jews, Muslims, Christians, white, black, brown, children, adults, and the elderly. When life hurts and dreams fade we express our anguish in different ways, but each of us knows the sting of pain, heartache, disease, disaster, trials and suffering. A great preacher of yester-year once said to a group of aspiring young ministers, Preach to the suffering and you'll never lack a congregation. There's a broken heart in every pew. Suffering is the common thread in all our garments. When Peter wrote his first letter to fellow believers scattered throughout Asia he focused on the thing that drew them all together-suffering. These people were being singed by the same flames of persecution that would take the apostle's life in just a few years. Their circumstances were the bleakest imaginable. Yet Peter didn't try to pump them up with positive thinking. Instead, he gently reached his hand to their chins and lifted their faces skyward-so they could see beyond their circumstances to their celestial calling. Some people instinctively know what to say to encourage others; they're the ones we look for when we're going through hard times. Jethro encouraged Moses (Exodus 18); Epaphroditus ministered to Paul (Philippians 2:25-30). Ask God to make you the kind of friend whose presence brings comfort and encouragement.'

Some Books

Some books inform. Some books reform. The Bible transforms.

Active Sword!

Holy Spirit, unless You move in my heart and in my mind, the Bible will be little more than words on a page. Guide my thoughts, lead me in my prayers, so that these words might become Your living and active sword in my hand. Amen.

Live God's Word

Father, thank You for giving us Your Word to guide
our lives. May we give it the serious care and
handling it so richly deserves, and may we live it
out daily through our actions and attitudes. Amen.

Your Living Word

Holy Spirit, bring familiar passages from Your living Word to mind. By Your power, make them living and active in my soul! Oh Lord, break me of any know-it-all attitude, so that I can experience You in fresh and new ways today. Amen.

Down Below

Joke 4 2day!

There was a CEO of a large bank who would only read messages if they had first been bound in leather for him.

One day he found an unbound piece of paper on his desk in his executive suite at the top of his 68 floor bank building. He exclaimed to his trusted assistant, "This drab looking message cannot be for me. It should be read by someone down below."

At that moment the CEO grabbed his chest and fell over dead. He zoomed straight to the Pearly Gates and saw St Peter already reading his Book of Life. As he landed, St Peter looked up from the Bank CEO's Book of Life and exclaimed "This drab looking message cannot be for me. It should be read by someone down below".

 

you will...prosper

'When it prospers, you will...prosper.' Jeremiah 29:7

Are you at a place in your life and you'd rather not be there? Well, God has a word for you, but it may not be one you want to hear. It's the same word Jeremiah brought to his people when they were slaves in Babylon, far from everything near and dear: 'You're not going home anytime soon, so change your attitude, dig in and make the best of it. Buy homes, plant gardens, let your children get married...and in addition, pray for the peace and prosperity of the city where you're living because when it prospers, you will prosper' (Jeremiah 29: 5-7). The Israelites were in exile because God had allowed them to be taken captive. So, could it be that you are where you are today because God placed you there to bless those around you? Instead of putting your life on hold waiting for circumstances to change, start sowing into other people's lives what you want to come back as a harvest in your own. Why? Because when they are blessed, you'll be blessed too! How do we know? Because Jesus said, 'Give, and it will be given to you...the measure you use...will be measured to you' (Luke 6:38 NIV). Martha Washington said, 'I'm determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be. I've learned that the greater part of happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.' That sounds just like Paul: 'I have learned [to be] content in...every situation' (Philippians 4:12 NIV). If you want to go from surviving to thriving, make the most of where God placed you.

Begin the day with God!

It is no small advantage to the holy life to "begin the day with God". The saints are wont to leave their hearts with Him over night, that they may find them with Him in the morning. Before earthly things break in upon us, and we receive impressions from abroad, it is good to season the heart with thoughts of God, and to consecrate the early and virgin operations of the mind before they are prostituted to baser objects. When the world gets the start of religion in the morning, it can hardly overtake it all the day.
-- Thomas Case

 

verbal Sunshine

Be generous with encouragement. It is verbal sunshine. It costs nothing and it warms hearts.

God's Instruments!

'We are...created...to do good works.' Ephesians 2:10

God uses people like you, regular folk with work and family responsibilities, mortgages and busy lives. The Bible says, 'we are...created...to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.' Note the word 'prepared.' It's the same word that's used for making sure a team has the training and equipment it needs to win. The truth is, we are ...'God's instruments to do his work'... (1Peter 2:9 TM). When do you know the true value of an instrument? When it's in the hands of a master! So put your life into the Master's hands and watch what He does with it. He 'saved us...not because of anything we did... but because of God's purpose...before time began' (2 Timothy 1:9 NCV). And He 'has given each of [us] a gift from his great variety...to serve one another' (1Peter 4:10 NLT); 'gifts...to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church' (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT). Do you still think your life doesn't count for much? Jesus said, 'Go and make followers of all people in the world...Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always' (Matthew 28:19-20 NCV). You're not just another face in the crowd; your life has value and purpose, even on those days when you feel totally inadequate. So, 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart...since...you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward' (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV). Can you think of any greater incentive than that moment when you stand in His presence and hear, 'Well done,' for giving it your best shot?

Working Parts!

 

Lord, thank You for placing us into Your family and
giving us the privilege and responsibility to serve
You through our churches. May we be a shining light
of Your love to our communities and the world.

The church is a living body and must have working parts.

 

God's Special Work of Art!

Each one of us is God's special work of art. Through us, He teaches and inspires, delights and encourages, informs and uplifts all those who view our lives. God, the master artist, is most concerned about expressing Himself- His thoughts and His intentions- through what He paints in our character; He wants to paint a beautiful portrait of His Son in and through your life. A painting like no other in all of time.

Joni Eareckson Tada

Replace Fear with Trust

Prayer 4 2day!

Father, I praise You that I can have intimate conversation with You any time, and all the time, because You are the One who loves me and lives in me. I ask that You would replace fear with trust today. Give me a deep awareness of Your presence so that I can live and speak in a way that communicates the mystery of the Gospel. Amen.

A Bullet for Jesus!

✞ Joke 4 2day!

The two thousand member Baptist church was filled to overflowing capacity one Sunday morning. The preacher was ready to start the sermon when two men, dressed in long black coats and black hats entered through the rear of the church.

One of the two men walked to the middle of the church while the other stayed at the back of the church. They both then reached under their coats and withdrew automatic weapons.

The one in the middle announced, "Everyone willing to take a bullet for Jesus stay in your seats!"

Naturally, the pews emptied, followed by the choir. The deacons ran out the door, followed by the choir director and the assistant pastor.

After a few moments, there were about twenty people left sitting in the church. The preacher was holding steady in the pulpit.

The men put their weapons away and said, gently, to the preacher, "All right, pastor, the hypocrites are gone now. You may begin the service."

 

Grudge

To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee.

William H. Walton

100 Points!

A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates.

St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay" the man says, "I attended church every Sunday"
"That's good, says St. Peter, " that's worth two points"

"Two points?" he says. "Well, I gave 10% of all my earnings to the church"
"Well, let's see," answers Peter, "that's worth another 2 points. Did you do anything else?"

"Two points? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."
"Fantastic, that's certainly worth a point, " he says.

"hmmm...," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."
"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points!"

"THREE POINTS!!" the man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"

"Come on in!"

Equip God's People!

'To equip God's people to do his work.' Ephesians 4:12

If you think the unemployment statistics in the country are bad, take a look at the church. Twenty percent of its members give eighty percent of its income, and do eighty percent of its work. The rest are happy just to be spectators. It's easy to sit back, criticise and say, 'Why doesn't the church do something about the problem?' Hold on there: You are the church; you do something about it! You say, 'But I left my church because I don't like the way they do things.' You didn't leave God's church, which is the body of Christ, did you? So, instead of talking about what your church doesn't do, look in the mirror and ask yourself, 'What am I doing for the Lord?' Do you know what an Armchair Manageris? It's someone who analyses the game when it's over, criticises the players, complains about the referee's calls, and is content to sit in the stadium and be a spectator rather than a player. Hello! It takes commitment to spend hours in practice knowing you'll be booed by the crowd, tackled by opponents, and will leave the field beat up and covered in dirt. The Bible says that the job of your pastor is: 'To equip God's people to do his work and build up the church...This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children' (v. 12-14 NLT). Think about it!

Kindness of your heart

Prayer 4 2day!

"Lord, I want to show the kindness of Your
heart today. Please show me who I can help
and in what way. I want my words and deeds
to convey Your love. Amen."

Who You Are!

Your age doesn't define your maturity, your grades don't define your ability, and what people say about u doesn't define who u are.

Video Games

If video games have taught me anything, it's that you'll automatically get promoted if you kill your boss

The God of This City!

"Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence." —W. S. Bowd

Aaron Boyd was in way over his head. On a mission trip to Thailand, he and his band, Bluetree, played one night in The Climax Bar, deep in Pattaya's red-light district. There, they rubbed shoulders with those stuck in the worst of the worst. There, he and his band discovered what can happen when someone "prays in the Spirit," allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through them, in a way that was natural to them. Aaron remembers:

"Everything you can imagine goes on in that place. You see kids as young as 8, 9, 10, just selling themselves, you know?! You see 60-year-old guys walking down the street with two 13- or 14-year-old girls..."

The band was overwhelmed with grief for what they saw around them. When it was time for them to get up and play, words were hard to find.

At one point I just started singing out. I started singing "Greater things..." something along those lines, almost prophesying over the city... slowly this groove emerged...

The band began to fill in with voices and instruments—praying in the Spirit with music. The Spirit's words, flowing through them, began to come together in a passionate intimate conversation with God—the Spirit was writing a new song on the spot:

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

... For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City...

This song, God of this City, is now sung worldwide. What is the Spirit going to sing in your heart today? Are you listening to what He is going to pray through you?

Holy Spirit, I'm listening. As we walk together today, lead our conversation. Speak to me and pray through me with all kinds of prayer in all situations. Amen.