http://dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-irritationandangermanagement/loveyourenemy-lovingallyourenemies.php
Songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J3dRe98zG4
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Love
Valentine's Day was on Sunday and since it is still fresh on every one's mind, I will talk about LOVE this week. On Valentine's Day, we usually celebrate this holiday by presenting our loved ones with flowers, cards and candy. This is our way of showing love. We present these gifts to our parents, spouses, significant others, children or anyone who has impacted our lives. Well, God has given us the ULTIMATE gift of love....His son, Jesus Christ.John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. What is love according to God's standards?
1 Corinthians: 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Also, God commands us not only to love those who love you, but to love those who hate you. You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy."But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43-44)
I know that this may seem like a hard thing to do, but this is God's standard. As Christians, we are supposed to be different from the world. This is the love that God has for us and this is the love that we should have for Him and others. While Valentine's Day is fresh on your mind, meditate on this passage and think about the people you celebrate this holiday with. Do you love them according to this standard? Most importantly, think about God and His love for us. Think about His son, Jesus, who came to this world to die for us.
1 Corinthians: 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Also, God commands us not only to love those who love you, but to love those who hate you. You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy."But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43-44)
I know that this may seem like a hard thing to do, but this is God's standard. As Christians, we are supposed to be different from the world. This is the love that God has for us and this is the love that we should have for Him and others. While Valentine's Day is fresh on your mind, meditate on this passage and think about the people you celebrate this holiday with. Do you love them according to this standard? Most importantly, think about God and His love for us. Think about His son, Jesus, who came to this world to die for us.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Great is thy Faithfulness
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.
Psalms 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Psalms 199:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
It is very difficult to search the Bible and pick out a few good scripture because the Bible is filled with them. I have heard the saying, "Life does not come with a manual," but it does! The Bible is our road map or GPS, for the techno savvy, to the answers in life. I have prayed about what to write and God has placed upon my heart to talk about faithfulness. In this recession many people are pinching pennies and questioning where God is? Some have lost jobs, homes, cars and faith.
I love Deut 7:9." know therefore that the LORD thy God, HE IS GOD. To me, Moses, the author of Deut, leaves no room for question about the God that he was serving. He is telling the us that the God you and I serve IS God, not an idol created by mortal hands, but a God that created mortals. Moses goes on to write that God is THE faithful God. Moses was used by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Throughout this ordeal Moses and the people of Israel went through many trials and I can imagine that they wondered where God was? Through these trials God proved Himself faithful to those who loved Him. Don't focus on the bad economy and the negativity and get discouraged. Look at this situation and see it as an opportunity to see God's faithfulness and increase your faith in God. Remember God is always near Psalms 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit Meditate on his word and know that The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate; Psalms 34:22
Links for songs on God's faithfulness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaDl625bvU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60o3UP4Kjwg
Psalms 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Psalms 199:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
It is very difficult to search the Bible and pick out a few good scripture because the Bible is filled with them. I have heard the saying, "Life does not come with a manual," but it does! The Bible is our road map or GPS, for the techno savvy, to the answers in life. I have prayed about what to write and God has placed upon my heart to talk about faithfulness. In this recession many people are pinching pennies and questioning where God is? Some have lost jobs, homes, cars and faith.
I love Deut 7:9." know therefore that the LORD thy God, HE IS GOD. To me, Moses, the author of Deut, leaves no room for question about the God that he was serving. He is telling the us that the God you and I serve IS God, not an idol created by mortal hands, but a God that created mortals. Moses goes on to write that God is THE faithful God. Moses was used by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Throughout this ordeal Moses and the people of Israel went through many trials and I can imagine that they wondered where God was? Through these trials God proved Himself faithful to those who loved Him. Don't focus on the bad economy and the negativity and get discouraged. Look at this situation and see it as an opportunity to see God's faithfulness and increase your faith in God. Remember God is always near Psalms 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit Meditate on his word and know that The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate; Psalms 34:22
Links for songs on God's faithfulness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaDl625bvU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60o3UP4Kjwg
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
The lukewarm Christian. To be or not to be as I am sitting here in Huston Texas, the weather I unusually cold. Hot chocolate and hot tea warm my chilled bones and hot soup comfort me. en I read this scripture, it make me think of my hot chocolate and how I would be disgusted to drink it warm. I like my food either extremely hot or extremely cold. As a culinary student, we learned serving warm food create and speed up pathogen and germ. to be lukewarm in Christ will produce spiritual pathogens in your life. Pathogens of sexually immorality, lying, swearing, drinking, smoking and the list goes on. when you are spend less and less time with god, praying, reading the bible your get relationship gets strained. It is easier to make decisions that don’t include him or decisions that are not in sync with what he says. God want you to be on fire for him or not. Have you ever met an indecisive person…maybe or maybe not. Don’t you feel like saying ”make up your mind already, it’ either yes or no.” Being lukewarm displays the wrong message to other how are maybe searching for something more. For an example, going on to party on Saturday night getting drunk and turning around on Sunday to go to church. what type of message are sending out? would God be pleased? How does that honor him? we are to honor him in ALL that we do, not some thing that we do. God wants us to honor him when no one is looking. God knows our heart and our every thought. I chose this scripture mainly for me. I have been sitting on the sidelines…to be or not to be…the question was for me. I know what I want to be. I don’t want to send mixed messages or be lukewarm for god. He has blessed my family so much and I want to give him my all. What is your choice/
If you are not saved and want to know Jesus on a personal level, say this prayer;
"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."
After you have said this prayer;
Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God
The lukewarm Christian. To be or not to be as I am sitting here in Huston Texas, the weather I unusually cold. Hot chocolate and hot tea warm my chilled bones and hot soup comfort me. en I read this scripture, it make me think of my hot chocolate and how I would be disgusted to drink it warm. I like my food either extremely hot or extremely cold. As a culinary student, we learned serving warm food create and speed up pathogen and germ. to be lukewarm in Christ will produce spiritual pathogens in your life. Pathogens of sexually immorality, lying, swearing, drinking, smoking and the list goes on. when you are spend less and less time with god, praying, reading the bible your get relationship gets strained. It is easier to make decisions that don’t include him or decisions that are not in sync with what he says. God want you to be on fire for him or not. Have you ever met an indecisive person…maybe or maybe not. Don’t you feel like saying ”make up your mind already, it’ either yes or no.” Being lukewarm displays the wrong message to other how are maybe searching for something more. For an example, going on to party on Saturday night getting drunk and turning around on Sunday to go to church. what type of message are sending out? would God be pleased? How does that honor him? we are to honor him in ALL that we do, not some thing that we do. God wants us to honor him when no one is looking. God knows our heart and our every thought. I chose this scripture mainly for me. I have been sitting on the sidelines…to be or not to be…the question was for me. I know what I want to be. I don’t want to send mixed messages or be lukewarm for god. He has blessed my family so much and I want to give him my all. What is your choice/
If you are not saved and want to know Jesus on a personal level, say this prayer;
"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."
After you have said this prayer;
Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God
lukewarm christianity
Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
The lukewarm Christian. To be or not to be as I am sitting here in Houston Texas, the weather I unusually cold. Hot chocolate and hot tea warm my chilled bones and hot soup comfort me. en I read this scripture, it make me think of my hot chocolate and how I would be disgusted to drink it warm. I like my food either extremely hot or extremely cold. As a culinary student, we learned serving warm food create and speed up pathogen and germ. to be lukewarm in Christ will produce spiritual pathogens in your life. Pathogens of sexually immorality, lying, swearing, drinking, smoking and the list goes on. when you are spend less and less time with god, praying, reading the bible your get relationship gets strained. It is easier to make decisions that don’t include him or decisions that are not in sync with what he says. God want you to be on fire for him or not. Have you ever met an indecisive person…maybe or maybe not. Don’t you feel like saying ”make up your mind already, it’ either yes or no.” Being lukewarm displays the wrong message to other how are maybe searching for something more. For an example, going on to party on Saturday night getting drunk and turning around on Sunday to go to church. what type of message are sending out? would God be pleased? How does that honor him? we are to honor him in ALL that we do, not some thing that we do. God wants us to honor him when no one is looking. God knows our heart and our every thought. I chose this scripture mainly for me. I have been sitting on the sidelines…to be or not to be…the question was for me. I know what I want to be. I don’t want to send mixed messages or be lukewarm for god. He has blessed my family so much and I want to give him my all. What is your choice/
If you are not saved and want to know Jesus on a personal level, say this prayer;
"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."
After you have said this prayer;
Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God
The lukewarm Christian. To be or not to be as I am sitting here in Houston Texas, the weather I unusually cold. Hot chocolate and hot tea warm my chilled bones and hot soup comfort me. en I read this scripture, it make me think of my hot chocolate and how I would be disgusted to drink it warm. I like my food either extremely hot or extremely cold. As a culinary student, we learned serving warm food create and speed up pathogen and germ. to be lukewarm in Christ will produce spiritual pathogens in your life. Pathogens of sexually immorality, lying, swearing, drinking, smoking and the list goes on. when you are spend less and less time with god, praying, reading the bible your get relationship gets strained. It is easier to make decisions that don’t include him or decisions that are not in sync with what he says. God want you to be on fire for him or not. Have you ever met an indecisive person…maybe or maybe not. Don’t you feel like saying ”make up your mind already, it’ either yes or no.” Being lukewarm displays the wrong message to other how are maybe searching for something more. For an example, going on to party on Saturday night getting drunk and turning around on Sunday to go to church. what type of message are sending out? would God be pleased? How does that honor him? we are to honor him in ALL that we do, not some thing that we do. God wants us to honor him when no one is looking. God knows our heart and our every thought. I chose this scripture mainly for me. I have been sitting on the sidelines…to be or not to be…the question was for me. I know what I want to be. I don’t want to send mixed messages or be lukewarm for god. He has blessed my family so much and I want to give him my all. What is your choice/
If you are not saved and want to know Jesus on a personal level, say this prayer;
"God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen."
After you have said this prayer;
Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ripe for the Harvest
Do you ever just seems stuck? Sometimes it seems that people who live unrighteous lives thrive. It seems like doing the right thing only puts you further behind. Don't be discouraged. Gal 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
What can you do from fainting or growing weary? Isaiah 40:31, says "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." How do you wait upon the Lord...by praying, having faith and reading the Bible. How can you trust in someone you know nothing about? How can you know someone without spending time with them? In order to know who or what you are trusting in requires time with Him. You wait unpon the Lord by being with Him.
"You reap what you sow," "what goes around comes around," or Karma. I think you know what I am getting at. Everything we do in life sows a seed whether good or bad. If you ever planted a garden or observed a farm you would know that things go in a natural order...plant...cultivate and THEN the harvest. Oftentimes, we or should I say I, would like plant, harvest and THEN cultivate. Although we may not see anything now, harvest time will come. Sometimes during the cultivation process there might be too much rain or too many storms, but in due season harvest comes forth. There is a saying, "He may not come when you want Him, but He will be there right on time." God does not operate in T.T. aka Tonya Time. He will allow harvest time when He thinks I am ready.
God is a God that never grows weary. He is never caught off guard by your situation. I am not going to pretend to understand or even like everything that happens in my life, but God knows. Isaiah 40:28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainted not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."
What can you do from fainting or growing weary? Isaiah 40:31, says "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." How do you wait upon the Lord...by praying, having faith and reading the Bible. How can you trust in someone you know nothing about? How can you know someone without spending time with them? In order to know who or what you are trusting in requires time with Him. You wait unpon the Lord by being with Him.
"You reap what you sow," "what goes around comes around," or Karma. I think you know what I am getting at. Everything we do in life sows a seed whether good or bad. If you ever planted a garden or observed a farm you would know that things go in a natural order...plant...cultivate and THEN the harvest. Oftentimes, we or should I say I, would like plant, harvest and THEN cultivate. Although we may not see anything now, harvest time will come. Sometimes during the cultivation process there might be too much rain or too many storms, but in due season harvest comes forth. There is a saying, "He may not come when you want Him, but He will be there right on time." God does not operate in T.T. aka Tonya Time. He will allow harvest time when He thinks I am ready.
God is a God that never grows weary. He is never caught off guard by your situation. I am not going to pretend to understand or even like everything that happens in my life, but God knows. Isaiah 40:28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainted not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."
Friday, October 9, 2009
For God so loved the world.....
John3:16 AMP For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
For God so loved the World...A very simple message, but so few understand. Jesus was sent here by God to save us. As a mother I could not imagine sending my ONLY son to save a world that would mock and reject Him. This shows the magnitude of the love of God. To some, God is a God that hoovers over us and waits for us to fail so that He can chastise us, but that is not true. He put His son a cross to bring us closer to Him. God knows that we are not perfect, but If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
To me my father and mother are an example of God's love, but his love is far greater! When I was growing up, my parents wanted the best for me and they still do. They are wiser and smarter than me because they have lived longer. When I did wrong as a child, I got a spanking or some other form of discipline. Why did they discipline me? Just to hurt me? No! They wanted to make sure that I was headed in the right direction. Sometimes my parents would give me chance after chance, warning after warning, but sometimes it took a spanking, discipline or me learning the "hard way," to realize what I was doing was wrong. God, is the same way. He doesn't tell us not to sin because he doesn't want you to have fun. He is doing it for your own good. The best thing about when I younger was I knew even though I messed up my parents loved me regardless. How much more does God love you?
17For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
For God so loved the World...A very simple message, but so few understand. Jesus was sent here by God to save us. As a mother I could not imagine sending my ONLY son to save a world that would mock and reject Him. This shows the magnitude of the love of God. To some, God is a God that hoovers over us and waits for us to fail so that He can chastise us, but that is not true. He put His son a cross to bring us closer to Him. God knows that we are not perfect, but If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
To me my father and mother are an example of God's love, but his love is far greater! When I was growing up, my parents wanted the best for me and they still do. They are wiser and smarter than me because they have lived longer. When I did wrong as a child, I got a spanking or some other form of discipline. Why did they discipline me? Just to hurt me? No! They wanted to make sure that I was headed in the right direction. Sometimes my parents would give me chance after chance, warning after warning, but sometimes it took a spanking, discipline or me learning the "hard way," to realize what I was doing was wrong. God, is the same way. He doesn't tell us not to sin because he doesn't want you to have fun. He is doing it for your own good. The best thing about when I younger was I knew even though I messed up my parents loved me regardless. How much more does God love you?
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