Cause
17 I
urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause
divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the
teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For
such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.
By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Romans 16:17-18
Do you ever sit around and think about what you
cause with your actions? Or do you ever think about what your actions
might cause other people to do? There are many people out there in this
world that whether they intentionally do it or not, cause divisions
between people or groups. It is that division caused by these people
that creates confusion, skepticism and sometimes a feeling of inadequacy
in the minds of believers. We all have been taught that we should
respect others, but what happens when these people's obstacles get in
our way and produce these feelings of inadequacy. We might shut down,
practice avoidance, or just tell ourselves that we aren't good enough to
be who we are in Christ. The funny thing is, these same people who try
to make us feel inadequate are the same people that are self-serving
and don't respect others. I challenge you to take up a cause against
the people who attempt to make you feel this way. Even though you
should stay away from them, you can show the Love of Christ and set an
example of how to treat others. Don't let obstacles block your path to
being closer to our Lord.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Fantastic Friday #385- Understand
Understand
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one. Psalm 53:1-3
What do you find yourself trying to understand? How the wind blows, how the rain falls, how streams raise and lower, how mountains shake, and why seasons change. Or, maybe you find yourself trying to understand God's creation and how He did it. Do you tend to think of how something happens or why something happens? Trying to figure these things out can sometimes be a blessing or a burden. If we spend too much time trying to understand how and why, we might not be spending enough time just enjoying and being in awe of them. If we spend time seeking God, He will give us the time to enjoy our lives and be in awe of His creation, and He will also provide us that time to learn about His creation. The thing we don't need to do is turn away from God and his creation and take this world and our life for granted. Let us take our lives and treat them as a gift that God has given us, along with this earth so that some day we can find the answers to all of our questions we are trying to understand.
Have a great weekend.
1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one. Psalm 53:1-3
What do you find yourself trying to understand? How the wind blows, how the rain falls, how streams raise and lower, how mountains shake, and why seasons change. Or, maybe you find yourself trying to understand God's creation and how He did it. Do you tend to think of how something happens or why something happens? Trying to figure these things out can sometimes be a blessing or a burden. If we spend too much time trying to understand how and why, we might not be spending enough time just enjoying and being in awe of them. If we spend time seeking God, He will give us the time to enjoy our lives and be in awe of His creation, and He will also provide us that time to learn about His creation. The thing we don't need to do is turn away from God and his creation and take this world and our life for granted. Let us take our lives and treat them as a gift that God has given us, along with this earth so that some day we can find the answers to all of our questions we are trying to understand.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Fantastic Friday #384 - Reaching
Reaching
14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:14-16
Do you find yourself reaching for answers, reaching for belief or reaching for faith and yet some of those things just seem to you to be slightly out of your reach? Maybe we are looking at these kinds of things from the wrong perspective. We are always told that when we need God the most, we need to reach out to Him through prayer and thanksgiving and through submission to Him. This is all very true and we should be doing this daily and when we are in need, but are we truly receiving what God has to give us? Are we allowing God to "reach" out to us by submitting to His authority, or are we too stuck in what we have to "do" to achieve His Grace. The funny thing is we don't have to do anything to achieve the Grace He freely offers, we just have to accept Him. So after we "reach" out to Him with our requests, how about sitting back and letting Him "reach" us with His will, which will give us answers and strengthen our belief and faith in Him.
Have a great weekend.
14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:14-16
Do you find yourself reaching for answers, reaching for belief or reaching for faith and yet some of those things just seem to you to be slightly out of your reach? Maybe we are looking at these kinds of things from the wrong perspective. We are always told that when we need God the most, we need to reach out to Him through prayer and thanksgiving and through submission to Him. This is all very true and we should be doing this daily and when we are in need, but are we truly receiving what God has to give us? Are we allowing God to "reach" out to us by submitting to His authority, or are we too stuck in what we have to "do" to achieve His Grace. The funny thing is we don't have to do anything to achieve the Grace He freely offers, we just have to accept Him. So after we "reach" out to Him with our requests, how about sitting back and letting Him "reach" us with His will, which will give us answers and strengthen our belief and faith in Him.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Fantastic Friday #383- Low
Low
our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:4-6
Can you remember a time when you felt low? When the highest you were feeling was that step stool on the floor that you see out of the corner of your eye. There are all times in our life when we feel low, when the world says we aren't good enough, where the enemy makes claims that are false, where people are just plain mean, or when we start feeling sorry for ourselves. My wife is a no-nonsense kind of person, and always tells me that she has no sympathy when I feel sorry for myself for any particular reason. She is a good rub in my life, but God is a better rub, if we will only call on Him. Many times individuals will wait until they are really low to call on the Lord to save them from this period, but we don't have to wait. We can call on the Lord at any time and He will answer. I love the word compassion that the Psalmist uses to describe God, because it truly shows a major part of God's character. God protects us and shows His compassion for us regularly, but we need to remember to call on Him in those times before we get too low. Let Him keep us steady by calling on him regularly, so He doesn't have to drag us out of a deep pit every single time.
Have a great weekend.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;“Lord, save me!”
our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:4-6
Can you remember a time when you felt low? When the highest you were feeling was that step stool on the floor that you see out of the corner of your eye. There are all times in our life when we feel low, when the world says we aren't good enough, where the enemy makes claims that are false, where people are just plain mean, or when we start feeling sorry for ourselves. My wife is a no-nonsense kind of person, and always tells me that she has no sympathy when I feel sorry for myself for any particular reason. She is a good rub in my life, but God is a better rub, if we will only call on Him. Many times individuals will wait until they are really low to call on the Lord to save them from this period, but we don't have to wait. We can call on the Lord at any time and He will answer. I love the word compassion that the Psalmist uses to describe God, because it truly shows a major part of God's character. God protects us and shows His compassion for us regularly, but we need to remember to call on Him in those times before we get too low. Let Him keep us steady by calling on him regularly, so He doesn't have to drag us out of a deep pit every single time.
Have a great weekend.
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