Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27 My second son is getting married this year. There is a lot of planning going on. There is excitement! There is stress! However, on my part, there is peace with this union. I see God, working in both of these young people. They are getting ready both ceremonially and spiritually with all the feels. …
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A Heart Like Like His
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 When you think or hear the word holiness, what comes to mind? Does dour faces, rigid rules, or self – righteousness come to mind? What about when you hear people talk about God and seeking him? Can I tell you a little secret? Seeking God is anything but dull! However, What does it mean to be holy? Well holiness can be defined on two levels. The first one is positional holiness, which is what God imparts to us when we become His children. Since we are sinners and God is holy,…
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God Speaks Through The Church
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV How do you hear God’s speak today? The Holy Spirit speaks to us through God’s people which is the local church. Many Christians believe that they don’t need the church today or that they are accountable to the church. Yes, we have direct access to God. Jesus is our meditator to God. God created the…
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Christ’s Love Compels Us
For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised. From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has…
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Complaining Hearts
And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. Numbers 11:1 Do you grumble? Do you complain? We, humans, are complainers. When we don’t like something, we grumble and complain about it! Do you catch yourself doing that? Pay attention this week and see how often you do complain and what your grumbling about. When we are complaining we are not having gratitude. In fact, we have a terrible attitude. Complaining and grumbling show us and others where our…
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Knowing God the Father
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 Are you a child of God? Do you see yourself believing that God is your father? The truth of the matter is God is our father. We are his children. This is one of the greatest revelations in the New Testament. As a child of God, we are chosen adopted through Jesus as his very own child. This happens when we asked Jesus to be our Lord and…
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Stand By Me
But the Lord stood by me and strengthen to me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the Lions mouth. 2 Timothy 4:17 Paul spoke truth. He was bold and courageous. God stood by Paul when no human would. In Acts 23 verse 11, it says the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “ take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome. “ Paul was anxious and nervous about what was about to happen to him. It looked as…
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Be On Guard
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to the human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 Paul was in tuned to God and had wisdom. In this verse, Paul is warning Christians to be on guard against philosophies, religions, and traditions that teach being independent from God and his ways. One of the greatest philosophy threat, today, is secular humanism. Humanism is any thought system based on values, characteristics, and behaviors that are believed to be best in human beings rather than any supernatural authority. Philosophy is an idea, view,…
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God And Others First
Do nothing from selfish ambitions or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 Today we see selfish ambition. It is one of the top enemy of unity in the Christian community. Christians fall trapped in the tendency to promote their own interests and not let go of their own views and opinions. Humility is a part of Christian unity because it is a quality of Jesus’ character. The Bible’s view point of humanity and spiritual salvation places a high value to humility. Humble means to be conscious of our weaknesses and inadequacies. To give quick credit to God and others for what they have…
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Sing To The Lord
Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with heart, Ephesians 5:19 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Music! I have yet to meet a person who does not like music. Spirit – filled people are encouraged to participate in three kinds of singing. The Psalms, it is referring to the Old Testament Psalms. The book of Psalms is considered to be like a book of songs for God’s people that went into the early church time period. This could represent singing God’s word in general. Next, is hymns. Hymns were the early church confessions of their faith in…