| Monday, February 22, 2010 | Print Article Leave a Comment |
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| Loving God’s People Bishop Walter S. Thomas Hebrews 10: 24-25 says this: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” It goes without saying that often in life we feel alone. We feel as if we are standing against the storm alone, fighting the rising tide alone, dealing with the difficulty alone, and living the great moments alone. Life has been so unkind to so many of us that we have failed to cultivate or revisit the art of being close to persons and knowing the joy that comes from true and genuine fellowship. We can find ourselves seeking to be alone because we feel it is safer and we won’t be hurt. The real truth, however, is that we are missing out on what God has purposefully put in our path: His people. God knows we cannot make this journey by ourselves and still know the fullness of the joy God has for us. What God has for us is intricately woven into fellowship and cannot be fully experienced until we allow ourselves to embrace the community of which God has us a part. He has given us His people and now we must learn to love again. Jesus said that we would be known as his disciples ‘by our love one for another.’ God allows us and teaches us how to love and just what love means. He teaches us that within the confines of God’s family, we must learn how to love and to forgive. We must learn how to care and to be compassionate. We must learn how to celebrate and to serve. I must admit…I love the people of God. They have been my instructors in life, my companions in suffering, my cheerleaders in success, and my friends in life. The writer of Hebrews said that we should not take this love ‘for granted.’ We should seek out ways to build upon it and to encourage one another. We have a community that is always looking for new ways to inspire and to edify us. In the midst of a world that wrestles with the meaning of love, God has placed us in a community that seeks to practice love. Let us not be naïve; the church is far from perfect. It has its flaws and makes its mistakes, but it is the bride of Christ being prepared for her Lord. A love for God’s people can help us all to realize that we should not live out our lives’ journey by ourselves.
© Bishop Walter S. Thomas all rights reserved. |
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Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category
Fellowship is Important
Posted: February 22, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Daily Motivation, Mind, Money Problems, power
Gods Provides
Posted: February 20, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Money Problems, Motivation, power
| Saturday, February 20, 2010 |
| Harvest Principle: God alone supplies by Rick Warren |
| Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)Â
You must decide you will look to GOD ONLY as your source of supply. You need to tell God that you’re going to look to Him alone to provide for your needs and that you won’t look anywhere else. We get ourselves in trouble when we confuse the channel with the source. God may use your paycheck from work as the channel to supply your needs, but your employer is just the channel for God’s provision – and he can shift to another channel anytime he wants. When you start to look to something or someone else to meet you needs, when you begin to confuse the channel with the source, there is a clear warning sign: Worry! Say you’ve started looking to your job as the source, instead of the channel. You may start worrying, “What if I loose my job?” You knoiw what – the channel may have closewd, but the source of your every need is still active and providing for you. When God turns off one channel, He can turn on another one. Once you know what you’re lacking, you need to give God the right to choose whatever channel He chooses to fulfill the need. It may be a channel different than you choose; in fact, God may delieberatly choose a different channel in order to teach you to keep looking to him for all your needs. I have learned – as a Christian for nearly forty years – that it’s exciting to just to let God be God. It’s exciting to watch God meet a need in a way that you never thought possible or could have never thought up on your own. God alone is the source of your supply. |
No Secrets of Instant Sainthood
Posted: February 7, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Daily Motivation, Job Opportunity, Mind, Motivation, power
| Sunday, February 07, 2010 |
| There is No Secrets of Instant Sainthood by Rick Warren |
| “Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed.” (James 1:4 Msg)
Be patient with God and with yourself. One of life’s frustrations is that God’s timetable is rarely the same as ours. We are often in a hurry when God isn’t. You may feel frustrated with the seemingly slow progress you’re making in life. Remember that God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time. He will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity. The Bible is filled with examples of how God uses a long process to develop character, especially in leaders. He took eighty years to prepare Moses, including forty in the wilderness. For 14,600 days Moses kept waiting and wondering, “Is it time yet?” But God kept saying, “Not yet.” Contrary to popular book titles, there are no Easy Steps to Maturity or Secrets of Instant Sainthood. When God wants to make a giant oak, he takes a hundred years, but when he want to make a mushroom, he does it overnight. Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process. James advised, “Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed.” (James 1:4 Msg) Don’t get discouraged. When Habakkuk became depressed because he didn’t think God was acting quickly enough, God had this to say: “These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” (Habakkuk 2:3 LB) A delay is not a denial from God! Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. Years ago people wore a popular button with the letters PBPGINFWMY. It stood for “Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet.” God isn’t finished with you, either, so keep on moving forward. Even the snail reached the ark by persevering! *** *** *** *** Rick Warren is the author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” now available in paperback from Saddleback Resources. Â |
Jesus Loves You
Posted: February 7, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Jesus Loves You
Rhonda Dent
God loving us first was the beginning of our relationship with him. We must develop a love for God in order to complete the relationship. No matter how much He loved us there could not be a relationship until we loved him in return. Relationships are not one sided. It is not just God loving us but us loving God that completes and defines that relationship.
To have a healthy relationship and to reap the benefits of that relationship there must be a mutual love for one another. If our relationship with God is not what it should be then we have to look within ourselves to cultivate and deepen that relationship. There are many one sided relationships with God and one sided relationships in the world. In our relationship with God it is not Him that is lacking in the relationship. It is us.
I have always had a love for God. Even as a teenager I knew that there was a God and I knew that He loved me. I knew that from a simple song that goes like this….
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so….what a wonderful song. I am sure most children heard the song while growing up. It is a simple song but a powerful song.
The song is so powerful that it is known all over the world. Back then I had no idea how much God loved me or how much He sacrificed for me. All I knew was that He loved me because the song said that he did. Even as baby Christians that is all we need to know, at first. But, as we get older and mature in the things of God we have to grow in the understanding that we must reciprocate that love.
If we never develop a love for God we can never understand what He did for us and how much He loves us. We will never understand love in any of our earthly relationships either. We will never understand unconditional love. Not understanding can prevent us from totally submitting to God and His ways. It will interfere with the desire to build a strong relationship with God and to walk in obedience. It will keep us from finding our purpose and from living a life sold out for God.
God’s love is not conditional and He will never stop loving us no matter what. God does not have human characteristics. His love endures forever. When we grasp the concept of unconditional love we are able to establish a right relationship with God and with our families, friends and neighbors. We then will realize what God did for us. I can think of no better scripture than this:
For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Until we understand the dynamics of such a love we will never quite understand why it is so important for us to have a love for God and not just a love for God, but the same type of sacrificial love that He had, has and will always have for us. Sacrificial love for God will lead us to lay down that bad habit and/or that relationship that we know is not right. It will lead us to sacrifice our time, our money and give up that ungodly behavior and much more.
When we really get to know God, we will develop such a deep love for Him that we will want to please Him.
God is working, regardless of how you feel
Posted: February 6, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Daily Motivation, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Mind, Motivation, power
| God is working, regardless of how you feel by Rick Warren |
| That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. (Hebrews 2:1 TEV)
As you grow to spiritual maturity, there are several ways to cooperate with God in the process – Believe God is working in your life even when you don’t feel it. Spiritual growth is sometimes tedious work, one small step at a time. Expect gradual improvement. The Bible says, “Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV) There are seasons in your spiritual life, too. Sometimes you will have a short, intense burst of growth (springtime) followed by a period of stabilizing and testing (fall and winter). What about those problems, habits, and hurts you would like miraculously removed? It’s fine to pray for a miracle, but don’t be disappointed if the answer comes through a gradual change. Over time, a slow, steady stream of water will erode the hardest rock and turn giant boulders into pebbles. Over time, a little sprout can turn into a giant redwood tree towering 350 feet tall. Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned. This is not a diary of events, but a record of what you are learning. Write down the insights and life lessons God teaches you about him, about yourself, about life, relationships, and everything else. Record these so you can review and remember them and pass them on to the next generation (Psalm 102:18; 2 Timothy 3:14) The reason we must relearn lessons is that we forget them. Reviewing your spiritual journal regularly can spare you a lot of unnecessary pain and heartache. The Bible says, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off.” (Hebrews 2:1 Msg) *** *** *** *** Rick Warren is the author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” now available in paperback from Saddleback Resources. |
We are not perfect, but God is
Posted: February 1, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Money Problems, Motivation, power
| Monday, February 01, 2010 |
| We are not perfect, but God is by Jon Walker |
| (This guest devotional is an excerpt from, Growing with Purpose, available from Saddleback Resources.)
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 2 Samuel 22:31 (NIV) We are not perfect; God is perfect We are flawed; God is flawless. God takes his perfection, mixes it with the blood of Jesus Christ, and paints his perfection over our imperfection. God takes his flawlessness, couples it with his strength, and forges it to the flaws that weaken us. What does this mean? If you struggle with perfectionism, then ask God to help you deeply understand that he loves you unconditionally. You can not earn your way into his love because he freely gives it. You not only need not be perfect; there is no way you can be perfect. Praise God for Jesus. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-24 NIV) If you are frustrated with your flaws, then be honest with God. Ask him to help you see how he works through your flaws and accept your flaws as God’s way of keeping you dependent upon him. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) *** *** *** *** *** Jon Walker is the managing editor of the Daily Hope devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission. |
Financial Needs
Posted: January 29, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, Scripture MemoryTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Money Problems, Motivation, power
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Friday, January 29, 2010
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God’s Provision: Faithful Giving
by Rick Warren |
God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you (1) ask him for help; (2) learn to be content; and (3) practice giving in faith –There is a universal law called the principle of sowing and reaping. If I sow criticism, I’m going to reap criticism. If I sow generosity, it’s going to come back to me, and I’m going to reap generosity. Every farmer knows this. A farmer has four sacks of seed in his barn and he looks at his empty field. He doesn’t complain, “There’s no crop! I wish there was a crop!” He just goes out and starts planting seed. When you have a need, plant a seed. It seems illogical that when I have a need, I should give. That’s why it requires faith. God says, “My ways are not your ways.” Why did God set it up that way? Because God is a giver. He is the most generous giver in the universe, and God wants you to learn to be like him. He wants to build character in you. The Bible says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” (Proverbs 3:9, NLT) This is the principle of tithing. It’s the principle that says every time I make $100 — the first $10 goes back to God. Tithing is an act of worship. We’re giving to God. We’re saying, “All of it came from you anyway.” God says, “Put me first in your life and watch what I do.” You may think you can’t afford to tithe, but the reality is, you can’t afford not to. Tomorrow we’ll look at maintaining integrity, another condition for answered prayer. |
Learn to Be Content
Posted: January 28, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Thursday, January 28, 2010
God’s Provision: Contentment
by Rick Warren
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NIV)
God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you (1) ask him for help and (2) learn to be content —
If you’ve ever seen a baby born, you know they don’t come into the world with a whole lot. They’re not holding onto cigars, cars and a stock portfolio. They don’t come into the world with anything but a little umbilical cord and that quickly gets cut.
And then, at your funeral, you don’t take anything with you. The Bible teaches that we should learn to be content.
What is contentment? Contentment means my happiness is not dependent upon circumstances. Most people get caught into “when” thinking: “When I get a certain job … When I can retire … When I get the house paid off … When I get the bills paid off … then I’ll be happy!”
God says, “No, once you get there, you’ll always want something else.” If you don’t learn contentment, you’ll never be happy. You’ll always want more.
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8, NLT)
Tomorrow we’ll look at faithful giving, another condition for answered prayer.
It’s All In Your Mind
Posted: January 23, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
It’s All In Your Mind
Dr. Creflo A. Dollar
Your mind holds tremendous creative ability. That’s why God gave you an imagination–so that you could create mental pictures, add faith to them and see those pictures manifest in your life.
Once you have an image in your mind of something you want to do or become, nothing can stop that image from coming to pass. Whatever you meditate on will become the blueprint for your reality. Too often, though, Christians suffer from “stinking thinking.” They give the devil control of their minds by meditating on thoughts that do not line up with the Word of God. Then they reap the results of the curse because their carnal mindset produces the fruit of the flesh described in Galatians 5:19-21.
To keep the devil from gaining a foothold in your life, you must develop a sound mind that is completely controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit. In other words, you must renew your mind with the Word of God. Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” When you become born again, your spirit instantly changes; you are recreated in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Yet your mind is not recreated. You must conform your thinking continually and on purpose; it is not an overnight, one-time event. Renewing your mind to God’s Word every day is vital. By reading the Scriptures and meditating on them thoroughly, your thinking will be transformed to line up with the mind of Christ. And when you have the mind of Christ, you can do anything!
When you set your mind on the Word of God, you’ll also experience soul prosperity and peace (3 John 2). The Bible says that the issues of life flow out of the heart (Proverbs 4:23). The word heart in this scripture actually refers to your soul–your mind, your will and your emotions. If you can control your mind, you can control your destiny. But it will take a quality decision on your part to dedicate your life to changing the way you think.
First Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is God’s will that your mind, will and emotions be whole, with nothing missing or broken. As a Believer, you can receive a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). It is then up to you to enforce and maintain soundness of mind by keeping your thoughts and imaginations in line with God and His Word (Isaiah 26:3).
When your mind is focused and directed by the Word, you will position yourself for success. You’ll have wisdom, discernment, insight and the ability to accomplish anything. A renewed, Word-controlled mind guarantees abundance and prosperity in every area of your life. Don’t let another day go by without a daily dose of meditation. Set your mind on the Word of God and let it become the focal point of your life and purpose!
Dr. Creflo A. Dollar is the senior pastor of World Changers Church International, 25,000 member church in College Park, Georgia. He is committed to changing the world one person at a time, and his award-winning “Changing Your World” television broadcast reaches nearly one billion homes worldwide. Visit http://www.CrefloDollarMinistries.org to learn more. Click here to browse and purchase Books, CDs, and DVDs by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar!
Under Gods Command 