Posts Tagged ‘christianity’

Spiritual Training 11 January 2013

Posted: January 11, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 5:15-19 (15) But the gift is not like the trespass.  For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!  (16) Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin:  The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.  (17) For it, by the trespass of the one an, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  (18) Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  (19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 

 We were all born into Adam’s physical family-the family line that leads to certain death.  All of us have reaped the results of Adam’s sin.  We have inherited his guilt, a sinful nature (the tendency to sin), and God’s punishment.  Because of Jesus, however, we can trade judgment for forgiveness.  We can trade our sin for Jesus’ righteousness.  Christ offers us the opportunity to be born into his spiritual family-the family line that begins with forgiveness and leads to eternal life, if we do nothing we have death through Adam; but if we come to God by faith, we have the life through Christ.

Lets Bring it Home: Which family line do you belong to?

Proverbs 10:12 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: January 10, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs,    

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Carrying around hatred will just make you hate more, and add to issues.  The next time someone close to you does something to angry you.  Starts focusing on the love you have for that person, and let the Holy Sprit do the rest.  After a while, you should start forgetting about the sin that was done, and on the love you have for that person.

Proverbs 4:5-7 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: January 4, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 4:5-7  Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.  Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; lover her, and she will watch over you.  Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding.  

If you want wisdom, you must decide to go after it.  This will take resolve-a determination not to abandon the search once you begin no matter how difficult the road may become. This is not a once-in-a-lifetime step, but a daily process of choosing between two paths-the wicked (Proverbs 4:14-17, 19) and the righteous (Proverbs 4:18).  Nothing else is more important or more valuable.

Spiritual Training 04 January 2013

Posted: January 4, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 5:5-6  (5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  (6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the un-godly.    

All there members of the Trinity are involved in salvation.  The Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to bridge the gap between us (John 3:16).  The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with love and to enable us to live by his power (Acts 1:8).  We were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves.  Someone had to come and rescue us.  Not only did Christ come at a good time in history, he came at exactly the right time according to God’s own schedule.  God controls all history, and he controlled the timing, methods, and results of Jesus’s death,

 

Lets Bring it home: With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve him completely!

Proverbs 3:5-6 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: January 3, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 3:5-6   Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  

Leaning has the sense of putting your whole weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing.  When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone-not even God.  But God knows what is best for us.  He is a better judge of what we want than even we! We must trust him completely in every choice we make.  We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason; but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others.  We must not be wise in our own eyes.  We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors.  Bring your decisions to God in prayer, use the Bible as your guide; and then follow God’s leading.  He will make your paths straight by both guiding and protecting you.

Proverbs 2:1-6 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 2:1-6 – My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and it you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

Wisdom comes in two ways: It is a God-given gift and also the result of an energetic search.  Wisdom’s starting point is God and his revealed Word, the source of “knowledge and understanding” In that sense wisdom is God’s gift to us.  But he gives it only to those who earnestly seek it.  But because God’s wisdom is hidden from the rebellious and foolish, it takes effort to find it and use it.  The pathway to wisdom is strenuous.  When we are on the path, we discover that true wisdom is God’s and that he will guide us and reward our sincere and persistent search.

Spiritual Training 02 January 2013 (Forgiving Others)

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Ephesians, Forgiving Others, Inspiration, Mathew, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Forgiving Others

Matthew 6:14 – For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 

Why?  Those who are unwilling to forgive have not become one with Christ who was willing to forgive even those who crucified him Luke 23:34 – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  We are also denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness.  God’s forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. We cannot live as Children of Light walking around with sin and hate towards others.

Ephesians 4:28-32 – He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands that he may have something to share with those in need.  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.    

We can grieve the Holy Spirit by the way we live.  Paul warns us against unwholesome language, bitterness, improper use of anger, brawling, slander, and bad attitudes toward others.  Instead of acting that way, we should be forgiving, just as God has forgiven us.  Are you grieving or pleasing God with your attitudes and actions? Act in love toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, just as God acted in love by sending his Son to die for our sins.

Lets Bring it Home:  Is there anything that you are holding against someone right now.  A friend, Mother or Father, Husband or Wife, co-worker or anybody else that you can think of? Now ask yourself this.  What is God holding against me right now that He will not let go because I won’t let it go?   Is it really worth to burn in hell over it for the rest of your life?

 

 

Spiritual Training 28 December 2012

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

 Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.  Perseverance, character, and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.     

These verses introduce a section that contains some difficult concepts.  To understand the next four chapters, it helps to keep in mind the two –sided reality of the Christian life.  On the one hand, we are complete in Christ (our acceptance with him is secure).  On the other hand, we are growing in Christ (we are becoming more and more like him).  At one and the same time we have the status of kings and the duties of slaves.  We feel both the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin.

Lets Bring it home: If we remember these two sides of the Christian life, we will not grow discouraged as we face temptations and problems.  Instead, we will learn to depend on the power available to us from Christ, who lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

  

Spiritual Training 27 December 2012

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Grace, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.     

We are now at peace with God, which may differ from peaceful feelings such as calmness and tranquility.  Peace with God means that we have been reconciled with him.  There is no more hostility between us, no sin blocking our relationship with him.  Peace with God is possible only because Jesus paid the price for our sins through his death on the cross.

Lets Bring it home: Are you saved?  Have you given your life to Christ?  Are you Under Gods Command?

Proverbs 10:21 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: December 10, 2012 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment. 

Many die needlessly due to ignorance. Others have so much wisdom they share it with many more. Do you grasp the great difference? Which one are you? What a privilege to be able to help others by your speech, but you first must gain the knowledge to share.

Righteous men have wisdom, so they can help others by teaching and warning about life’s pitfalls. But fools do not have even enough wisdom for themselves, so they fall into pain and trouble, dying early and unnecessarily. First, save yourself! Then, save others!

Wisdom is not only for self-preservation and success. Wisdom is also to help save others from the results of foolish decisions. Righteous men are not selfish: they are eager to use their wisdom to serve others. Righteous men are not hateful: they rejoice only when men are walking in the truth (I Cor 13:6). It grieves them to see men fall into sin foolishly.

Do you feed many? Will your funeral be filled with affectionate memories of advice and instruction you gave to save men from dangers and difficulties and lead them to success? Or will your funeral be moving a dysfunctional fool to the cemetery? Will men fondly recall your help and wisdom? Or remember your ignorance and that you helped no one?

While the righteous feed many, fools die for lack of wisdom. Do you understand there is more than one way to die? You can die physically by foolishness, as by accidents, drunkenness, AIDS, suicide, murder, execution, lung cancer, and other terminal consequences. But you can also die to love, joy, peace, hope, and prosperity in your life.

Divorce is the death of a marriage. Being fired is the death of a job. Being in prison is the death of freedom. A rebel child brings the death of peace. Guilt and shame are the death of joy. Bitterness and revenge are the death of love. Debt and poverty are the death of success. These things happen due to lack of wisdom. There is more than one way to die!

Do you have wisdom to avoid these painful troubles? As Proverbs declares repeatedly, wisdom is easily available to any man who will humble himself and seek her. Where is she found? In the precious word of God, especially these short inspired sayings of Solomon. His purpose was to teach wisdom to young men (Pr 1:1-4). Are you learning it?

The best wisdom you can share with another is the certain words of truth found in the Bible (Pr 22:17-21). God put perfect knowledge in writing for you, so that by listening to preaching and reading the Bible, you have much to give to others (Ps 19:7-11; I Pet 3:15).

What keeps you from feeding many? If you lack wisdom, get some. If you are selfish, confess and forsake it. If you can allow others to suffer needlessly, learn godly charity. If you are afraid to answer questions, then take courage and consider you might save a life.

You should aspire to be like Philip, who was able to answer the eunuch’s question in the desert, leading to his baptism (Acts 8:26-40). Consider Aquila and Priscilla, the husband and wife team that corrected Apollos, though he was a learned man (Acts 18:24-28).

It is the law of God to love others by correcting them when they need it (Lev 19:17). It is the duty of saints to warn the unruly (I Thess 5:14) and save brethren from error (Jas 5:19-20). Righteous men will be trees of life and save the souls of many (Pr 11:30; 27:9).

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