Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Philippians 3:17-19
I love music and listen to it quite a bit. Sometimes I use it to calm me or rearrange my thoughts, sometimes I listen to get motivated and at other times it’s for the pure enjoyment of it. My collection is quite varied in both genres and eras as it ranges from the 1930s to the present. Recently, I was at the gym and the song “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon started playing. While some may not appreciate the song, I listen to it occasionally as a reminder to not get caught up in “lesser things”. In case you’re not familiar or haven’t heard the song in the last five decades, the lyrics tell the story of a young and beautiful woman pursues fame and fortune. In the process, she compromises and forfeits all of the things that made her beautiful, but never achieves the fame that she desires and becomes so poor that she can’t afford her clothes. God offers us so much, but too often people get off course with respect to godliness and forfeit their faith for lesser things that are useless and meaningless in light of eternity. Time and time again we are reminded in scripture to pursue God and His truth in various ways and the reasons are clearly explained to us. However, some reject the concept, some ignore it, while others struggle with it. Three reasons why it may be difficult are: hope, pride, and fear.
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God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.
John C. Broger
christianquotes.info/top-quotes/16-awesome-quotes-about-easter/#ixzz59q4ZDzxh
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14-15
The small group that my wife and I participate in is currently studying the statements of faith that our church affirms. As I began preparing for a study on the statement related to Christ, I thought it would be appropriate to walk through it here since the Christian world will be celebrating Easter in a few days. It’s a brief but great reminder of what we are celebrating and is as follows: “We believe in Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial, bodily resurrection, His ascensions to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return in power and glory.”
Why Christ?
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Jesus did not die on the cross just so we could live comfortable, well adjusted lives. His purpose is far deeper: He wants to make us like himself before he takes us to heaven. This is our greatest privilege, our immediate responsibility, and our ultimate destiny.
Rick Warren
faithfulprovisions.com
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
Idioms, colloquialisms, and slang are common in our speech and rather confusing for those trying to learn a language. I am guilty of using all three. Having lived in or traveled frequently to different parts of the country, it is possible for me to mix phrases from various regions in the same sentence…adding to the confusion. This became quite evident when I worked with a young woman from South America. She had just immigrated to the United States and while her command of English was good, she had not yet had much exposure to the variety of idioms, colloquialisms, etc. When combined with accents and cultural differences, conversations between us were sometimes laborious. I would later learn that for the first two years, she thought I was being critical when I was trying to reassure her because of the different views our respective cultures had on the use of a certain phrase. Fortunately, she was living with an older couple who regularly reminded her that in the U.S., the phrase was a form of encouragement. I still felt awful about the miscommunication and certainly would have chosen different words had I known of the stress it was causing her. Therein lies one of the issues with speech: miscommunication. As ambassadors for Christ we’re called to guard our speech and “unwholesome words” can take a variety of forms. There are many idioms used regularly in our culture.
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Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.
Watchman Nee
whatchristianswanttoknow.com
“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.’” Luke 21:1-4
In the wake of Billy Graham’s departure from this world, the atmosphere seems a tad darker. He was truly a mighty man of God who was used to reach all levels of society around the globe. Not only did he touch the lives of many great and influential people not the least of which were several US presidents, but he also touched the lives of the humble such as my grandmother who accepted Christ sitting in her apartment watching one of his crusades on her television. In that light, take a look at the picture described in Luke 21. A poor woman who has next to nothing is noticed by the Lord of all that exists. He doesn’t look down on her as someone who is insignificant. Quite the opposite, He recognizes that her small offering or her “mite” is a mighty act of faith as she is giving all that she has; He acknowledges that she has contributed more than those who have given much larger offerings out of their surplus. When I consider the opportunities, wealth, talents or spiritual gifts of the mighty and those with no more than a mite, three points come to mind: jealousy, attitude and value.
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Your Father knows your gifts, your hindrances, and the condition you’re in at every moment. And He also knows something you can’t possibly know–every single person who’s in desperate need of receiving His touch through you.
Bruce H. Wilkinson
The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
I was recently included in an invitation to participate in an activity. For various reasons I declined; any one of them had sufficient merit to opt out, but together, the choice was self-directing. A few days after the initial invitation, a second was received. It came on a rather busy day and not wanting to forget to respond, I sent a brief message indicating my choice. Rather quickly, I received a reply questioning my decision which was followed by a volley of emails that indicated offense for both my choice and my means of communicating it. The end result was yet another hurt and a broken relationship that increased my desire to withdraw from most people and especially pull away from the Christian community.
One of the difficulties for those dealing with life’s trials and/or the ongoing challenges of chronic illness is the focus. We all face various circumstances that disappoint and frustrate us giving rise to the need of confidantes to whom we share our thoughts and occasionally vent. However, when our thoughts become self-absorbed, we lose our perspective and cause damage in our vital relationships.
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Jesus tends to his people individually. He personally sees to our needs. We all receive Jesus’ touch. We experience his care.
Max Lucado
Experiencing the Heart of Jesus: Knowing His Heart, Feeling His Love
