Monday, August 03, 2009
MY BACKWARDS JOURNEY Day 3
In Genesis Chapter 12 verses 10-20, we see a horrible side of Abram upon entering Egypt. To save his life, he lies to Pharaoh’s officials about his wife Sarai. He gives her basically be one of Pharaoh’s wives, to save his own hide. This was such a despicable act that the pagan Pharaoh was greatly disturbed when he found out the truth.
So a truth is seen that even after the Promise given to Abram, he was not just a major “work in progress” with...
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
MY BACKWARDS JOURNEY Day 2
God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 is fleshed out in the rest of Genesis chapters 12-50. The promise and the fulfillment is the story of the O.T. and the entire New Testament. God reveals his ongoing redemptive story working out His purposes through the lives of Israel, the Patriarchs, His Son Jesus Christ, the Disciples, the Early Church, and in the lives of every person on the planet today.
“The promise” was to be kept in the...
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
MY BACKWARDS JOURNEY
The past few weeks, my journey with God has me looking toward the past instead of the future. This is very unusual for me, not being a history buff. Even as a child I would often read the last chapter of a book first to see where the story went instead of reading the entire book from the beginning. My journey has been back to the book of Genesis. I’m finding out that sometimes the nugget of truth we need or that is missing in our life is not found looking...
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Monday, July 27, 2009
“Becoming Jesus centered worshipers”
What kind of worshiper are you? What do you focus on during church? What does it take for you to get a “breakthrough” during the service? These are tough questions, but questions that need to be answered by all of us. Many churches have become very modern in their approach to having church (RIO included). We use multi-media projectors, video, special lighting, and state of the art sound systems. The musicians frequently play and sing on a...
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Thursday, July 23, 2009
“Are we cheating on God?”
In a study of Jeremiah, I found some very heavy topics for discussion that easily relate to us in the 21st century. Jeremiah and God Himself paint a very bleak picture of what has become of Israel’s relationship with their God; their deliverer; the One who brought them out of Egypt, let them cross the Red Sea on dry ground, saved them from Pharaoh’s army, gave them super-natural provision in the desert, brought the great wall of Jericho down, and...
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
“Is praise and worship the
same thing?”
No! In the context of a church service, praise is only the beginning. It takes place in the outer courts. We encourage each other through song about what the Lord has done, or who He is, or how powerful His acts. If we never get past praise (the outer courts) in our service, we have missed out on our time of intimacy with the Father. Why? There are many who at times are worthy of our praise, but only One who is worthy of our worship.
...
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Monday, July 20, 2009
“Kidnapped”
This blog comes from a study I was doing a while back on Daniel. I think we’ve all heard that story over and over since our childhood. However, in my study, I found a few interesting things that I had overlooked (or forgotten). First of all, Daniel was a very young man (probably a teenager) when he was taken captive from Jerusalem and brought to Babylon. He was like any other boy; he had hopes and dreams about a bright future. He was handsome and smart (1:4), and...
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Friday, July 17, 2009
3 Circles
A few months back I was watching a movie called “10,000 B.C.” While I can’t recommend the movie, there was a scene that I will never forget. The film is about a boy who grows up without a father. He is raised by his father’s best friend and when the boy reaches adolescents, he begins to question what happened to his father, and is told by many of the villagers that he was once their leader, but abandoned all of them. This greatly disturbs the boy, and he becomes...
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
“Why Relationship”
We tend to complicate our relationship with Jesus when He has given us a wonderful example here on earth of our relationship with Christ. Jesus uses the relationship of husband and wife to depict His relationship to the Church, or his believers (Eph. 5:25-33). The key to this great mystery is that the “two become as one” (v. 31-32).
Christ’s first reason for relationship is “oneness” with His believers. This was His final prayer for all...
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
“What Relationship”
Relationships are a vital part of our everyday life. Yet, we seem to have a difficult time transferring that to Jesus and our relationship with Him. Many times we have an “arms-length” relationship with Jesus. If my close friend is my employee, we are probably very “tight” when we are together on a social basis. However, at work we are at an arms-length relationship so that other employees will not perceive me giving my friend preferential treatment because...
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009
“Tis’ the Season” Part 3
Although spiritual winters are difficult, we have discussed two of their positive purposes. First, to kill the bugs from the past and keep them from affecting next years’ harvest, and to force us to expand our spiritual wardrobe. Let’s look at the final two positive purposes of spiritual winters.
1. It clearly distinguishes the annuals from the perennials. In other words, it reveals faith, loyalty, and character. It...
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009
“Tis’ the Season” Part 2
How do we deal with the spiritual winters in our lives? My wife is native of Florida. I remember when we moved from South Florida to Indiana. Although the cold weather was a difficult adjustment, we both agreed that the most difficult part was how long the winters seemed. This was especially true when we lived in West Virginia. We pulled out our coats in October and didn’t see growth on the trees until mid-May. The wrong response...
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Monday, July 06, 2009
“Tis’ The Season” Part 1
There is nothing like that time when you sense Spring is turning to Summer, or Summer to Autumn. It gives you a natural burst of energy and anticipation to the changes in weather or special days associated with that season. I am sure that we each have seasons that we enjoy more than others. The same can be true of our spiritual seasons. We each walk through seasons in our life that are tougher than others. There are certain truths that we...
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday:
Most people don’t really know God. They know what they have read, or have been told, but it is an intellectual knowledge that lacks true spiritual experience. Most of us grow up being told there is a God and those who believe in God have a relationship based on fear rather than love. How many love God and want to know Him? All of us were made for God. But when people are told to seek God within, it is like telling them to go to another planet. What is farther away and more...
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday:
Be faithful to God in small things. In every moment you have the privilege to enter more fully into your salvation. As God gives you each moment, use it. You have no guarantee for tomorrow. Listen to God, live in His presence and avoid things that will draw you away from Him. Find Him within you, and pour out your heart to Him. Love Him with everything. Submit your plans to His will. Find out what He wants you to do and then do it, quickly.
Do what God asks...
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday:
It is a great thing to be able to be peaceful when you are facing situations that do not seem to change. Bear all the uncomfortable things about your current situation. Look at them as exercises that God has designed for your growth. Your inner man may be low, but your inner man is being upheld. This peace is all the more precious when there is no earthly reason to have it.
It is wonderful to be willing to accept all situations no matter how difficult. Depend...
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday:
You sense within you what God wants, yet you resist. No wonder you are troubled and distressed. God will give you according to your faith. Look at Abraham who hoped against hope! Look at Mary who did not hesitate even when the most incredible thing in the world was proposed to her. Open your heart. All I ask you to do is rest in faith with a teachable spirit. Give in to the will of God with a humble heart. God will work everything out for you. The things that look the...
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
This week’s blogs are thought taken from the book “The Seeking Heart,” by Fenelon. I found this to be a fascinating read. I have taken and condensed the writings from different chapters of the book. Hope you enjoy
Monday:
Trust completely in God. He will not deceive you, but trusting the dark desires still hidden in your heart will. Do nothing from your natural reasoning. The present moment is your sole treasure for here is where the will of God is found. Do not insult today...
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Evaluating My Path Part 4
Transitions on the Journey
Life’s journey always intrigues me. I find myself sitting at times looking at my life and wondering the many, “What if?” Life is full of questions. Questions on how things could be differently if certain choices and decisions were made. Over the past week I have had many questions. Questions on why does life seem to be a swinging door of people coming in and out of our lives. I, being a very social person who...
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Evaluating My Path Part 3
Finding God in the Journey
Over the past few years my path in life has brought many joys and much heartache. At times I have questioned where is God in the mist of this journey? Have I totally lost sight of Him? In The Principle of Path, Stanley writes, “It is easy to become enamored of the siren call of the wrong path and ignore the fact that we are heading away from our values, goals, dreams and commitments.”
Life in general...
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Evaluating My Path Part 2
Direction- not intention- determines our destination.
The Principle of the Path -Andy Stanley
If Andy’s statement is true, then we all must honestly look @ the direction that we are headed in life and leave out the element of our intentions. I know spiritually where I want to be, I am fully aware of the intentions that I have to get there. Even knowing my intentions, I must ask myself am I truly headed in that direction. ...
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Evaluating My Path Part 1
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:6 (New Living Translation)
I must admit, over the past few months reading books have become a struggle for me. During undergraduate and graduate school I lived a life commitment to books. Now, life has a new focus on family and ministry. The busyness of life seems to slowly rob each us of...
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
“Our Present Future” Part V
The Best Is Yet To Come
Chosen
In John, chapter 2, they said to the bride groom (figurative of Jesus), “You have saved the best for last” (John 2:11). James tells his leaders to be patient in their suffering and remember the “end” of the Lord (James 5:11), for He delivered Job and gave him double blessings for his trouble. In Haggai 2:23, the Lord proclaims that He has “chosen” us. The Hebrew word for chosen is “bochor.” ...
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
“Our Present Future” Part IV
The WOW of “Now”
Seeing Your Future
Our future is not fatalism: Whatever will be, will be, the future’s not up to me. But five times the word “today” is mentioned. Our future is often decided in these “NOW” moments. Haggai asked those who had seen Solomon’s Temple, how the new temple foundation looked to them “NOW” (2:3)? Because what they “saw” seemed to be nothing in comparison, they were not motivated to get busy building...
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
“Our Present Future” Part III
“The Depth of Our Destiny”
Creative Design
Our lives are not measured only in terms of what we have achieved but upon our obedience to fulfill what God has designed for our lives. I thought I wanted to go to college on a football scholarship, but God’s design for my life was Biblical training to prepare me for a life of full-time ministry. In Jeremiah 1:5 the Lord declares, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew...
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Monday, June 15, 2009
“Our Present Future” Part II
How Do You View The Future?
Yesterday we examined how we viewed the present. But today, we also need to discover how we view our future.
3 Views
1. Pessimistic Our past and present usually dictate how we see our future. If your past and present are good, then we view the future as good. But if our past, or, if our present are bad, then we tend to view the future as bad. The people in Haggai’s day had “planted much,...
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
“Our Future” Part I
How Do You View The Present?
3 Views
1. Problematic Some people view their “present” only through the current circumstances, problems they are facing. The context of the prophet Haggai was Persian control. We have a “bail –out economy” to contend with, but our problems do not define us!
2. Past Some people don’t live in the present. They live either in the nostalgia of a glorious past as in Haggai’s...
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