Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Having Patience in the Midst of Discouragement
September 3, 2009 Having Patience in the Midst of Discouragementby Rick Warren “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay’” (Hebrews 10:36–37 NIV). |
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| If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is not a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come—yet—that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer, or that he’s forgotten you, or that he doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet!” Spiritual maturity is knowing the difference between “No” and “Not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV). The delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, anybody can be patient twice. And, just about anybody can be patient three times. So God tests you patience over and over and over. Why? To see how patient you are? No, he does it to show you how patient you are. So you’ll know what’s inside of you, and you’ll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed. If you’re discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience. You may be going through difficult times right now and feel like dropping off the planet. You’re discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair. It may seem unbearable and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!” But you can. You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit. Don’t quit. Resist discouragement and finish the race God has set before you. |
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
How do I become, as you say, a "Christ Follower"?
How do I become, as you say, a "Christ Follower"?
Well, to become a 'Christian' you need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship is begun by coming to him and acknowledging our failure and asking for his forgiveness. Obviously we have something we need to be "saved" from if Jesus came to be our "Saviour", right? Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard."
Are you ready to admit your failure to live up to God's ideal? He is ready to forgive you and cleanse you from all your guilt. Next comes our whole-hearted commitment to following him, which simply means to do whatever he would want us to do.
Of course, if we're going to learn about what his will is for our lives, this will mean that we become students of the Bible and study it for ourselves as well as learn what we can at church.
So becoming and being a Christian is not really about being "Catholic" or "Protestant" or "Baptist" or "Brethren In Christ" (which The Meeting House is). Joining one church or another is not the issue, but committing to Christ is. In fact, it seems quite possible that there are all kinds of people who call themselves "Christians", both Catholics and Protestants, who may think they are Christians because they go to church and do other good things, but who don't really know Jesus.
That seems to be the message Jesus gives in Matthew 7:21-23. He says: "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord', but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus goes on in those verses to describe that it is not enough to talk the talk, but what's important is our relationship with him displayed in obedience to his teachings that makes the difference.
The Bible uses a word for that - "faith", which simply means "active trust", believing in someone or something enough to act upon that belief. Are you ready to commit your life to following Jesus as his disciple? He's ready to lead you into new and deeper life (John 10:10). [Bruxy Cavey]
from: http://www.listenuptv.com/listenup/ask-question
Well, to become a 'Christian' you need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship is begun by coming to him and acknowledging our failure and asking for his forgiveness. Obviously we have something we need to be "saved" from if Jesus came to be our "Saviour", right? Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard."
Are you ready to admit your failure to live up to God's ideal? He is ready to forgive you and cleanse you from all your guilt. Next comes our whole-hearted commitment to following him, which simply means to do whatever he would want us to do.
Of course, if we're going to learn about what his will is for our lives, this will mean that we become students of the Bible and study it for ourselves as well as learn what we can at church.
So becoming and being a Christian is not really about being "Catholic" or "Protestant" or "Baptist" or "Brethren In Christ" (which The Meeting House is). Joining one church or another is not the issue, but committing to Christ is. In fact, it seems quite possible that there are all kinds of people who call themselves "Christians", both Catholics and Protestants, who may think they are Christians because they go to church and do other good things, but who don't really know Jesus.
That seems to be the message Jesus gives in Matthew 7:21-23. He says: "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord', but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus goes on in those verses to describe that it is not enough to talk the talk, but what's important is our relationship with him displayed in obedience to his teachings that makes the difference.
The Bible uses a word for that - "faith", which simply means "active trust", believing in someone or something enough to act upon that belief. Are you ready to commit your life to following Jesus as his disciple? He's ready to lead you into new and deeper life (John 10:10). [Bruxy Cavey]
from: http://www.listenuptv.com/listenup/ask-question
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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