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C L

Living Loved - Quotes & Humor - 0 views

  • Generally, what I find is that the ordinary people who come to church are basically running their lives on their own, utilizing 'the arm of the flesh' - their natural abilities - to negotiate their way," he says. "They believe there is a God and they need to check in with him. But they don't have any sense that he is an active agent in their lives. As a result, they don't become disciples of Jesus.
  • We must never forget that God's speaking to us, however we experience it in our initial encounter, is intended to develop into a intelligent, freely cooperative relationship between mature people who love each other with the richness of genuine agape love. We must therefore make it our primary goal not just to hear the voice of God but to be mature people in a loving relationship with him.
  • Only broken people are truly honest. By nature you and I are full of erroneous judgments... It is only after God has shaken our natural foundation to pieces... only when all our illusions are raised and we have lost the remainder of our inborn self-confidence... only when we see we have misjudgment concerning ourselves... then do we begin to be honorable. Revelation has its price.
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  • many Christians fear the responsibility of being free. It's often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely exclusively on the letter of the law.
  • when we reduced Scripture to formula and a love story to theology, and finally morality to rules. It is a very different thing to break a rule than it is to cheat on a Lover.
  • What if the guy who sold everything he had to buy the incomparable pearl, was God and you were the incomparable pearl? What if? The context certainly allows for that interpretation, and that is in effect what Jesus did when he gave up everything he had so that we could become his - now and forever!
  • The local church many have come to cherish - the services, offices, programs, buildings, ceremonies - is neither biblical or unbiblical. It is abiblical - that is, such an organization is not addressed in the Bible
  • We humans are notorious for taking something Scripture describes as a reality, giving a term to it and thinking we've replicated the reality. Paul talked about the church that gathered in various homes, but he never called it 'house church'. Houses were just where they ended up in their life together. Jesus was the focus, not the location.
  • I have concluded at this point that the most dangerous enemy of Jesus-brand community is viewing community as an ideal to be achieved rather than as a gift to be received.
  • We value God's power over human effort, transformation over conformity, mutuality over hierarchy, authenticity over entertainment, modeling over celebrity, following Jesus rather than implementing models, and the presence of the Living Christ above all else!
  • When religion replaces the actual experience of the living Jesus, when we lose the authority of personal knowing and rely on the authority of books, institutions, and leaders, when we let religion interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we lose the very reality that religion itself describes as ultimate.
  • "Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air, and if people imagine that they can follow Jesus without taking this step, they are deluding themselves like fanatics... Although Peter cannot achieve his own conversion, he can leave his nets." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • "Brothers and sisters, break free from whatever ruts you have settled into! Whoever does not want to be set free - well, suit yourself, but don't say you are living in Christ's spirit. You can continue in the old ways and be a part of Christianity, but not of God's kingdom. You can live in Christianity but not in Christ; the gulf between the two is great."
  • Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire builders have been people unable to give and receive love.
  • Even in its ruined condition a human being is regarded by God as something immensely worth saving. Sin does not make you worthless, but only lost.
  • You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
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  • Jesus knew the worst and He loved me. What a relief to know the worst about yourself and at the same moment to be embraced by God. It's so liberating to reach the end of yourself.
  • put our intimate friendship with him above everything else we might want from God
  • real enemy of the cross-life? comes from the established religion of the day
  • The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself.
  • What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God.
  • Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic."
  • That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
  • Ruthless trust comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise in spite of all disconcerting appearances.
  • The people you'll remember are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the biggest awards. They are the ones who care
  • Anyone God uses significantly is always deeply wounded... We are, each and every one of us, insignificant people who God has called and graced to use in a significant way
  • "Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think and act like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning away from the old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want." - I Peter 4:1-2
  • My true brothers are those who rejoice for me in their hearts when they find good in me, and grieve for me when they find sin. They are my true brothers, because whether they see good in me or evil, they love me still.
  • Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is!
  • The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.
  • Well, I may not know much about God, but I have to say, we built a pretty nice cage for him
  • Expectations are resentment waiting to happen.
  • Religion vs Relational LifeReligion conforms people to a system; relational life frees them to trust God.Religion divides people by preference and perspective; relational life celebrates the incredible diversity in God's family.Religion bores people with routine; relational life is as fresh as a new conversation with an endearing friend.Religion rewards image and pretense; relational life demands honesty and reality.Religion provides substitutes for the active presence of Jesus in people's lives; relational life focuses on that presence alone.Religion sacrifices people for the good of the institution; relational life teaches people how to live together as Father's family.Religion uses what God says and does for its own agenda; relational life allows God to set the agenda and for us to simply follow him.Religion leaves us able to boast about how much we're doing or how hard we're working; relational life finds joy only in celebrating God's work among us.Religion finds love inefficient and cumbersome; relational life embraces love as the heart of God's working.
  • "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
  • "So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, 'No.'" - Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer."We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." - Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.Remember these next time someone tries to steal your dream.
  • Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are there helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. And He'll always be there to love and guide you on to great things.
  • Scientists point out that administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.
C L

Living Loved - The Narrow Road - 0 views

  • We are simply called to follow him, in the simplest of choices as best we recognize his invitations. As we do, his life will unfold in us with ever-increasing reality.
  • You only have to have a heart that wants to follow him and he will teach you how he speaks to you and invites you into life.
  • Listening to him is not living by feelings, but by recognizing those impulses he brings to your mind and following them. Initially they will encourage you to rest in his love and to be more gracious to people near you. In time, he will show you more of his wisdom to guide your life.
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  • You will only learn by practice. Yes, you will do some things you thought God was leading you to do, only to find out by the fruit of it that it was more your thought than his. That's part of the process. How else will you learn? But you'll also get some things right and the joy of that will help tune our heart to his. In the process, you'll be drawn closer to him and come to recognize your more selfish aspirations, and the misplaced trust you have in your own wisdom or abilities.
  • You can usually tell if someone's listening to Jesus by how open and relaxed they are. If they are closed and defensive when someone questions them, be careful.
  • One thing I know about people who listen to God, they don't act destructively and they aren't arrogant about what they think they hear. Learning to listen to God is a humbling process. You're never one hundred percent sure of what he's asking. You just have an impulse in your heart you can't explain. It grows over time, but he is never forceful or manipulative, and that is also true of people learning to listen to him. They can be firm, but not defensive and are always willing to sacrifice for others, instead of asking others to sacrifice for them.
  • God does love you, but that love only transforms you to the degree that you can trust his love enough to follow him on to the narrow road. His love doesn't mean that everything will work out the way we want, nor that we won't be the victims of other people's hurtful and destructive choices.
  • But he wants to be with us in those moments to help us navigate our experience in a broken world and be transformed through it. He invites us to participate with him, which is why love and obedience go hand in hand in the Scriptures. As you grow to trust his love you will want to obey him, and it's in following him that you get to live in the fruit of his love.
  • Jesus repeatedly made clear that our actions matter. Scripture often invokes the reality of sowing and reaping to express this truth. How we live either leads us more into his life, or draws us away from it, whether we'll contribute to his redemption in the world, or be part of its destruction. That's what Jesus meant when he affirmed those who followed, Well done! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness! (Matt. 25: 21)
  • If we follow a bit, the road will get clearer. If we follow our own way instead, we'll lose sight of him.
  • That doesn't mean you have to be perfect for God to work in you, or that you can't reverse the trend any day you want to. He is always ready to lead you one simple step at a time and never asks for what you cannot give. Following in small things today will open more doors tomorrow. If we're indulgent and dishonest in little things, we will be indulgent and dishonest in larger things. If we can learn to follow him in simple ways of loving others and being true to our word even when it hurts, his work in us will grow in ways we'd never conceive.
  • This is not about earning his life by our obedience, but participating with him as he transforms us. Everything I get to experience of God today began with simple choices years ago. They set off a chain of unforeseen consequences that opened doors to where I live now. The simple nudge to go to public schools with our children and volunteer to help began a series of opportunities that eventually led to twenty years of consulting public schools on religious liberty conflicts. Listening to Jesus say, "I have more to teach you if you walk away," when my former co-pastor wanted to force me out of the fellowship we helped build together, opened a trailhead into personal transformation I adore and opportunities for growing and sharing I would not have found without him.
  • At the outset, all these choices looked more difficult than other options I had in mind. I'm glad he won me into following him and the choice to do so now is far easier. I don't even trust my own desires anymore because following him, even though painful at times, has always yielded better fruit.
  • Learning to merge off of the broad way and onto the narrow road is a process that he wants to work in you, not a requirement he's made for you. It's simply a matter of learning to lean into him a bit more each day and leaning away from what draws you down the broader road. You can't do this alone. And this does not mean you have to carefully listen to Jesus at every moment and try to figure out what he wants so you won't miss out. Doing that will leave you frustrated and exhausted. We find his way much more simply than that. In fact, the anxiety of having to hear him will make it more difficult to do so. Instead go through your day with a growing awareness that he is with you. Whenever you have it, follow that inner sense that seems to encourage you one direction or checks you from going another. When you come up against choices of significance, ask him what he has in mind. Let him show you in his time. You don't have to hear something every day or in every circumstance. Relax in him as he connects your heart with his.
  • Learning to live out of your spirit, rather than your intellect or emotions alone, will take some time. Ask him to show you the next step ahead and relax in a growing trust that he will. The Spirit makes his direction clear in a variety of ways--it might be that stray thought in your mind, affirmed by something that you read or hear, perhaps even a lyric of a song in the background that resonates with your heart. Don't look for a "voice" per se, but a growing awareness of his thoughts in your mind. Of course, familiarity with his words in Scripture and conversations with others on a similar journey will also bring clarity to what he's showing you.
  • As I go about my life, I become aware of options that are better than my own, especially in helping someone near me, or drawing me into a quieter space with him. At first, I don't always like where these nudges would lead me, which is why Jesus saw this journey as a narrower road and why most people miss it. Our flesh so easily dismisses what it doesn't want to consider. And, no, you don't have to always get it right. No one does.
  • As you make a few choices down the narrow road, you will find yourself becoming more relaxed and able to live in the moment instead of trying to manipulate your circumstances. The questions you'll find yourself asking might be these: What does he want to show me about himself today? What might love lead me to do in this situation? How does loving others, even at the expense of my self-interest perpetuate the kingdom? How does my forgiveness or service to someone else today, make the world a better place?
  • But even when you miss him and find yourself on a path of your own making, he is there, too, still nudging you toward a better road. Don't be hard on yourself, just keep coming back to him over and over. You are loved, even in your brokenness. Today is the day God cares about. As they say, the best time to plant an oak tree was twenty years ago, but the second best time to plant it is today.
  • As you learn to live more on the narrow road, you'll have a better idea just how destructive the broad way was, to yourself and others. Rather than be embarrassed by it, embrace that new reality. One of the most redemptive things we do on the narrow road is to go back to people we've wronged, seek their forgiveness and offer restitution where we can. Such moments bring great healing and clarity to all involved. Yes, it may not be easy, but that's exactly the point of the narrow road--most fruitful things aren't fun at the outset, but yield great joy later on.
  • Perhaps the most effective form of discipleship is not teaching a curriculum, but simply being alongside others when they are at a fork in the road and being a cheerleader for the road less traveled. We don't have to manipulate or pressure them, but simply through a question or observation give them an opportunity to make a choice that matters. And if they make it, lend them our support and encouragement. That's how people find their way onto a journey that will be full of his life.
  • The only reason why his way may seem difficult is because we're so busy following the crowd that we miss his invitation to a narrower road. But once we learn to believe him, it becomes far easier than most think possible. And though you'll find yourself on a road most others can't understand, it will change the way you think, live, and how you treat others. You'll find yourself on a transformative journey that you will never regret.
  • The reason this journey seems so difficult is because it is far easier than we dare to believe! I know it isn't easy for people to find their way into a loving relationship with the Father. Everything we've learned and believed before runs counter to the dynamics of recognizing and resting in his love. However, it isn't difficult because God makes it complicated, or because it takes a certain skill set or sensitivity, but because we look in the wrong places for how his life takes root in us. But Jesus knows that too, and is still up to the challenge of engaging us in a fruitful relationship with his Father.
  • Only the religious would twist them either to take pride in thinking they practice the right doctrine or ritual, and delight in the fact that those who don't will get what they deserve. Jesus didn't want to provoke exclusivity or fear with his words, but rather to equip hungry hearts to know how to know him. Following the broad way of self-interest will devour us, but there is a narrower path that will lead us to life.
  • At first, everything in us wants to resist his nudge. No, it can't be that way. I could get hurt. I could make a mistake. What if it goes wrong? But if he's the one inviting us, we are safer doing what he asks than anything we do to save ourselves. We are not asked to indulge our preferences or live in resistance to them. We are simply called to follow him, in the simplest of choices as best we recognize his invitations. As we do, his life will unfold in us with ever-increasing reality.
  • Making space for him and his thoughts and following them is the only way off the broader road. We find the narrow road when we find rest in his love for us and then recognize his leading as he offers us a different way to see what's going on around us. We often don't even see a new trailhead until he nudges us towards it.
IN Too

Hope for the Future gives us Hope for the Present « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

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    Jesus' resurrection… gives us hope that we too can live our lives unburdened by sin/sinfulness/the sin-nature. We have a hope for the present, for our day-to-day walk, that sin does not have to rule over our lives: Jesus' resurrection means we are free.
chakiry95

How to live after a breakup - relaationship - 0 views

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    People come and go in life, but some when they leave make life miserable. It's hard to forget them. When we live without them, we only realize how difficult it is to live without them. Finally, an affiliation is difficult, whether it is your decision or the choice of the other person. You can face painful emotions and want to put an end to these feelings quickly. There are many ways to manage your painful feelings and move on, like writing about how you feel, crying and being careful about reversing relationships. Keep in mind that restoring a break requires time and resistance. Remember, if you can not handle the situation yourself, you can always talk to your friends, family, or even a mental health expert to help you. There are some methods that can be useful:
Brian Jones

3 Books, Apps and Albums I Can't Live Without - 0 views

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    3 Books, Apps and Albums I Can't Live Without
C L

The Cape Town Commitment - Lausanne Movement - 0 views

  • Discerning the will of Christ for world evangelization
  • Unreached and unengaged peoples
  • thousands of people groups around the world for whom such access has not yet been made available through Christian witness
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  • pastor-teachers. We will make every effort to identify, encourage, train and support them in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word
  • evangelism at the centre of the fully-integrated scope of all our mission, inasmuch as the gospel itself is the source, content and authority of all biblically-valid mission
  • Oral cultures The majority of the world’s population are oral communicators, who cannot or do not learn through literate means, and more than half of them are among the unreached as defined above. Among these, there are an estimated 350 million people without a single verse of Scripture in their language. In addition to the ‘primary oral learners’ there are many ‘secondary oral learners’, that is those who are technically literate but prefer now to communicate in an oral manner, with the rise of visual learning and the dominance of images in communication.
  • Christ-centred leaders
  • only those whose lives already display basic qualities of mature discipleship should be appointed to leadership
  • Leaders must first be disciples of Christ himself
  • authentic Christian leaders must be like Christ in having a servant heart, humility, integrity, purity, lack of greed, prayerfulness, dependence on God’s Spirit, and a deep love for people
  • ability to teach God’s Word to God’s people
  • long-term work of teaching and nurturing new believers
  • long that God would multiply, protect and encourage leaders who are biblically faithful and obedient
  • accountability within the body of Christ
  • focus more on spiritual and character formation, not only on imparting knowledge or grading performance, and we heartily rejoice in those that already do so as part of comprehensive 'whole person' leadership development
  • Half the world now lives in cities. Cities are where four major kinds of people are most to be found: (i) the next generation of young people; (ii) the most unreached peoples who have migrated; (iii) the culture shapers; (iv) the poorest of the poor
  • All children are at risk. There are about two billion children in our world, and half of them are at risk from poverty. Millions are at risk from prosperity. Children of the wealthy and secure have everything to live with, but nothing to live for.
  • God can and does use children and young people - their prayers, their insights, their words, their initiatives - in changing hearts
  • For God to send labourers into every corner of the world, in the power of his Spirit; For the lost in every people and place to be drawn to God by his Spirit, through the declaration of the truth of the gospel and the demonstration of Christ’s love and power; For God’s glory to be revealed and Christ’s name to be known and praised because of the character, deeds and words of his people. We will cry out for our brothers and sisters who suffer for the name of Christ;  For God’s kingdom to come, that God’s will may be done on earth as in heaven, in the establishment of justice, the stewardship and care of creation, and the blessing of God’s peace in our communities. B)    We will continually give thanks as we see God’s work among the nations, looking forward to the day when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ.
Marie Lin

Submitting everything to God - 0 views

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    We try so hard to control our own lives. Relinquishing our own will and accepting God's will for our lives is probably the hardest thing we can ever do.
IN Too

Kneeling Down Will Lift Us Up « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

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    God will expose the pride in our lives to us… we can humble ourselves and be lifted up by Him. Or, we can choose to cling to our selfish pride and self-destruct our own lives!
IN Too

Elisha and The Feeding of the Hundred, Part 1: The Overcomer « Reflections in... - 0 views

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    If we determine to honor God with our lives, regardless of the obstacles and setbacks we face, then… the testimony of our lives will be more than enough: "…They shall eat, and shall leave thereof".
IN Too

Healed for Saviour-Service, not Self-Service « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

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    It is easy for us to fall into a rut where we see God as 'Mr. Fix-It'; where we call on Him to remove problems from our lives so that we can accomplish the goals we had set for ourselves. Rather, we should call on God to remove problems from our lives so that we can accomplish the goals He has set for us.
Marie Lin

Is it possible live a life without sin? - 1 views

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    Some Christians believe it is possible to live without sin. Is it?
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    "The origin of sin is weakness, the weakness is the curiosity to knowledge, the desire to unveil the truth; the shame of your nakedness and the fall of a perfect creation. Perfect in every way, know that we know the difference between good and evil, we only have left to fight our selfish will to obey the Father."
Marie Lin

Christian understanding of suffering - 2 views

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    When striving to live our lives like Jesus, many Christians don't think the "suffering" part applies.
Joel Bennett

Finding time - Sunset.com - 3 views

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    No one needs to watch the news every night, unless one is married to the anchor. No one dies proud that they spent their life keeping their house cleaner than anyone else in the family ... If your children grow up to become adults who spend this one precious life in a spin of multitasking, stress, and achievement, and then work out four times a week, will you be pleased that your kids also pursued this kind of whirlwind life? If you want more for your kids (lives well spent in hard work and savoring all that is lovely), why are you living in this manic way?
Robbie Lowdown0

Christian Blogger's Journal: Blogtalkradio Fail and Living For Truth - 0 views

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    The host pin number didn't work, another backlash from the Devil. 
Giberto Cruz

Bad Credit Unsecured Loans - Quick And The Easiest Way to Obtain Swift Finances! - 0 views

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    To grab the required amount of money for covering up your sudden cash crisis, bad credit unsecured loans is the easy fiscal aid widely presented in online money market. These loans are trouble free and immediate monetary provision for all salaried class people to make a better living removing all the financial worries within no time.
IN Too

Our Father's Perfect Plans « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

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    From the beginning of time God has wanted the heart of mankind. He wants us to call on Him and come to Him in prayer, to seek His will, and trust Him in all things. When we do, He is always available to us, longing for all to look to Him and live. His arms are always open to any who will turn to Him. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
C L

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? * ChristianAnswers.Net - 0 views

  • While there is much evil in the world, there is even more that is good. This is proved by the mere fact that people normally try to hang on to life as long as they can. Furthermore, everyone instinctively recognizes that “good” is a higher order of truth than “bad”. We need also to recognize that our very minds were created by God. We can only use these minds to the extent that He allows, and it is, therefore, utterly presumptuous for us to use them to question Him and His motives. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). “Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast Thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20). We ourselves do not establish the standards of what is right. Only the Creator of all reality can do that. We need to settle it, in our minds and hearts, whether we understand it or not, that whatever God does is, by definition, right.
  • Having settled this by faith, we are then free to seek for ways in which we can profit spiritually from the sufferings in life, as well as the blessings. As we consider such matters, it is helpful to keep the following great truths continually in our minds. There is really no such thing as the “innocent” suffering. Since “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), there is no one who has the right to freedom from God’s wrath on the basis of his own innocence.
  • As far as babies are concerned, and others who may be incompetent mentally to distinguish right and wrong, it is clear from both Scripture and universal experience that they are sinners by nature and thus will inevitably become sinners by choice as soon as they are able to do so. The world is now under God’s Curse (Genesis 3:17) because of man’s rebellion against God’s Word. This “bondage of corruption,” with the “whole world groaning and travailing together in pain” (Romans 8:21-22), is universal, affecting all men and women and children everywhere. God did not create the world this way, and one day will set all things right again. In that day, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).
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  • The Lord Jesus Christ, who was the only truly “innocent” and “righteous” man in all history, nevertheless has suffered more than anyone else who ever lived. And this He did for us! “Christ died for our sins” (I Corinthians 15:3). He suffered and died, in order that ultimately He might deliver the world from the Curse, and that, even now, He can deliver from sin and its bondage anyone who will receive Him in faith as personal Lord and Savior. This great deliverance from the penalty of inherent sin, as well as of overt sins, very possibly also assures the salvation of those who have died before reaching an age of conscious choice of wrong over right. With our full faith in God’s goodness and in Christ’s redemption, we can recognize that our present sufferings can be turned to His glory and our good. The sufferings of unsaved men are often used by the Holy Spirit to cause them to realize their needs of salvation and to turn to Christ in repentance and faith. The sufferings of Christians should always be the means of developing a stronger dependence on God and a more Christ-like character, if they are properly “exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). Thus, God is loving and merciful, even when, “for the present,” He allows trials and sufferings to come in our lives. “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
C L

The Great Commission | Operation World - 0 views

  • Vital, supportive home fellowships of believers who are willing to pray the missionary out to the field and keep him or her there through the years of greatest effectiveness. This is difficult to maintain with rapid changes and turnovers in membership and in the pastoral team in most congregations. Congregations must see themselves as local launching pads for the essential task of global mission
  • The harsh realities of spiritual labour soon dispel the imagined glamour of pioneer missionary work. Both the missionaries and the churches that send them need to have realistic expectations, adequate support on every level and unflinching devotion to the task.
  • Many missionaries live sacrificially for Christ, in harsh and demanding contexts, with simple lifestyles and neither present nor future guarantees of income or security. This is especially the case for those from newer sending nations where churches do not yet appreciate the importance of financial support for mission. Missionary lifestyles also need to be sensitive to the living standards of the contexts in which they work.
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  • Missionaries must be more vigilant on the field than in home situations. They need to be able to discern between cultural differences and spiritual opposition, but the spiritual authority to resist evil attacks is even more vital. These can come through many means, including physical health and disease, attacks upon the mind and attitude, in relationships and in physical threats such as violent attacks and hostage taking.
  • assurance that God has guided one to a particular ministry is often the only anchor to retain workers in difficult situations, misunderstandings, broken relationships and “impossible” crises. Pray that none may leave a place of calling for a negative or superficial reason, but only because of a positive leading from God.
  • Success should be understood as having been achieved when the missionaries are no longer needed for the role for which they came. The ideal goal of all missionaries should be to train their own replacements from among local believers.
C L

Alternatives to monologue | toolbox | simplechurch.eu - 0 views

  • Five Alternatives to Monologue If there is a key to good communication, it is to remain involved with people’s lives, keep the flow of communication going in both directions between teachers and learners, using many forms of expression. Several alternatives to an exclusive use of monologue can be gleaned from both the New Testament and reproductive church movements.
  • Dialogue. (Acts 17:2; 20:7; 17:11; 24:25) The apostles preferred to “dialogue” with both seekers and believers, both individuals and groups. Dialogue, conversations with a purpose, allow a teacher to answer folk’s questions, allay their fears, inform their ignorance, appeal to their conscience, and help them choose what they will do. Believers are to teach and instruct “one another” (Col. 3:16; Rom 15:14). Dialogue is easier to do in small groups than in big congregations. Since most folks already know how to dialogue with their friends and relatives, doing so is a superior way to share about Jesus and the way of life that He calls everyone to follow. Gifts of the Spirit. (1 Cor 12:7; 14:24-26) A primary task of those who shepherd flocks is to ensure that all the believers have time and opportunity to serve one another. In doing so, their gifts of the Spirit will “manifest” and many will be helped and strengthened. In fact, as all the believers share one with another, even unsaved folks who listen to them will see their own need and turn to Jesus. Gifts of the Spirit manifest more readily in small groups where believers see each other face-to-face and have freedom to speak one to another.
  • Demonstrations of power. (1 Cor 2:1-5; 1 Thes 1:4-6) The reality and truth of the Word of God are learned more from experience than by listening to logical discourses. One of the main tasks of those who shepherd flocks is to ensure that all the believers have time and opportunity to pray for one another, and to show love within their worship. As they do so, the Holy Spirit will work many miracles of healing and deliverance. Drama and role play. Drama and story-telling remain universally appealing to all classes of society, and are a preferred leaning style in many of the more neglected societies. Men and women, young and old, can act out Bible stories that illustrate every major doctrine of Christianity. So doing also allows children to participate actively in worship. Brief role plays, presented with little preparation and without costumes, can prove both entertaining and evocative. A skit, followed by reading a Bible text, can open up discussion and help folks to apply truth to their lives and work. Furthermore, even the newest believers can participate. Questions and answers. Folks have genuine questions and issues for which they seek help and answers. If we cannot answer a question, then let us admit so and promise to find answers.
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Light to Live By « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

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    What are you bumping into along life's journey? Turn on the light of the word of God.
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