I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I would never would have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chose me afterward.
C. H. SPURGEON
Tag Archives: Christian Life
Are You Dying To Love?
February 14, 2014 
1 Comment
Galatians 2:20 The Voice
I have been crucified with the Anointed One—I am no longer alive—but the Anointed is living in me; and whatever life I have left in this failing body I live by the faithfulness of God’s Son, the One who loves me and gave His body on the cross for me.
1 Corinthians 12:31 The Voice
Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way—love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
It’s a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers.
Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.
Matthew 10:38 The Voice
If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me.
♥ Love ♥
February 13, 2014 5 Comments
Ephesians 5:25 Easy-to-Read Version
Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.
My Thoughts 💭
This is one of my favourite Bible verses that i try desperately each day to live up to. As soon as i first read this verse it convicted me straight away and i knew i wanted to be a husband like that!
🙏 Prayer
Spirit, thanks for being a constant guiding presence in my life. Give me the faith to take practical and radical action to keep in step with You, so that You can love my spouse through me in a way that will sustain a fun, loving & trusting relationship. Amen.
To All The Churches #7
February 13, 2014 0 Comments
Revelation 3:14-22 The Voice
Letter to Laodicea
Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Laodicea. “These are the words of the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation:
“I know your works. You are neither cold with apathy nor hot with passion. It would be better if you were one or the other, but you are neither. So because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. You claim, ‘I am rich, I have accumulated riches, and I need nothing’; but you do not realize that you are miserable, pathetic, poor, blind, and naked. So here is what I suggest you do: buy true gold from Me (gold refined by fire so that you can be truly rich), white garments (to cover you so that you can keep the shame of your nakedness from showing), and eye ointment (to treat your eyes so that you may see clearly).
“Those I love I also correct and discipline. Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me, and turn back.[a] Now pay attention; I am standing at the door and knocking. If any of you hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to visit with you and to share a meal at your table, and you will be with Me.
“The one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death I will place next to Me on My throne, just as I Myself conquered and took a place of honor with My Father on His throne.
“Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches.”
It’s Too Bad
February 12, 2014 4 Comments
It’s too bad I’m not as wonderful a person as people say I am, because the world could use a few people like that.
Alan Alda
✞ Music “Blessings” by Laura Story
February 12, 2014 2 Comments
“Blessings”
We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
(chorus)
‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
(chorus)
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It’s not our home
(chorus)
What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
We Want The Crown Without The Cross.
February 12, 2014 4 Comments
Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness. We want all our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the gain without the pain. We want the words of Christ’s salvation to be easy.
John MacArthur
To All The Churches #5
February 11, 2014 4 Comments
Revelation 3:1-6 The Voice
For centuries many Jews had been scattered throughout the known world, exiled to the lands east of the Jordan River from the promised land by powerful invading nations. After Jerusalem fell in a.d. 70, even more Jews left Judea, this time crossing the Mediterranean looking for some place far from Roman cruelty. That’s why, as John writes these letters to churches in Asia Minor, he recalls some of the most infamous characters from Israel’s past—Balaam, Balak, and Jezebel. The ordeals facing John’s churches are not all that different from those Israel faced hundreds of years before. Many of the same struggles plague churches in the West to this day. The names may change, but the problems confronting God’s faithful do not.
Letter to Sardis
The One: Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Sardis. “These are the words of the One who has the seven Spirits of God, the Perfect Spirit, and the One who holds the seven stars:
“I know the things you do—you’ve claimed a reputation of life, but you are actually dead. Wake up from your death-sleep, and strengthen what remains of the life you have been given that is in danger of death. I have judged your deeds as far from complete in the sight of My God. Therefore, remember what you have received and heard; it’s time to keep these instructions and turn back from your ways. If you do not wake up from this sleep, I will come in judgment. I will creep up on you like a thief—you will have no way of knowing when I will come. But there are a few in Sardis who don’t have the stain of evil works on their clothes. They will walk alongside Me in white, spotless garments because they have been proven worthy.
“The one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death will be clothed in white garments, and I will certainly not erase that person’s name from the book of life. I will acknowledge this person’s name before My Father and before His heavenly messengers.
“Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches.”
✞ Music “NY2LA” by Press Play
February 11, 2014 1 Comment
Was nicely surprised to find an even greater message in the middle of this song! 🙂
My Worth To God
February 11, 2014 1 Comment
My worth to God in public is what I am in private.
Oswald Chambers
To All The Churches #4
February 10, 2014 0 Comments
Revelation 2:18-29 The Voice
Letter to Thyatira
Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Thyatira. “These are the words of the Son of God, the One whose eyes blaze like flames of fire and whose feet gleam like brightly polished bronze:
“I know your deeds, love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. Your labors greatly increase in quality as you travel along this journey.
“However, I have this against you: you have tolerated that woman Jezebel, who is a self-anointed prophetess and who misleads My followers to commit immoral sexual acts and to eat food prepared for idol worship. I have provided her enough time to turn away from her indecency, but she refuses to turn from these immoral acts. Watch; I will throw her back into her sickbed with those who committed adultery with her, and I will make them a bed of great affliction if they do not abandon her indiscretions and turn to follow Me. I will punish her by striking her children dead. Through this all the churches will know I am the One who relentlessly explores the mind and heart, and I will deal with each of you as you deserve according to your acts.
“I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, those who have not held to the teachings of Jezebel and who remain ignorant of the real meaning of what is called the deep things of Satan, I will not burden you with anything more. Just keep on task, and keep the faith until I return.
“And as for those who conquer through faithfulness even unto death and continue to labor with Me until the close of the final curtain,
I will give them authority over the nations.
And they will rule the nations with an iron scepter,
as fragile clay jars are shattered to pieces.
As I received this authority from My Father, I will bestow the morning star to the victor.
“Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches.”
To All The Churches #3
February 8, 2014 1 Comment
Revelation 2:12-17 The Voice
Letter to Pergamum
Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Pergamum. “These are the words of the One with the sharp double-edged sword:
“I know [your deeds and] where you live. It is where Satan, the adversary, has established his throne. You have stayed true to My name, and you did not deny your trust in Me even in the eventful days of My faithful witness, Antipas. He was killed among you in that place where Satan dwells.
“However, I have a few matters against you: some who live among you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to set up a stumbling block before the people of Israel. As a result, some among you are eating food prepared for idol worship and committing immoral sexual acts. You have others who are holding firm to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore, change your ways and turn to Me. If you do not, I will quickly come to where you live and will battle them with the sword of My mouth.
“Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches. To the one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death, I will feed you with hidden manna and give you a white stone. Upon this stone, a new name is engraved. No one knows this name except for its recipient.”
Related Posts:
Sometimes I’d Like To Ask God…..
February 8, 2014 4 Comments
“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”
“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”
“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”
Unknown
You’re Blessed
February 7, 2014 2 Comments
Matthew 5:1-12 The Message
You’re Blessed
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”
Cut Out & Stitch Up
February 7, 2014 3 Comments
I believe now that God is kind enough not only to work in our present and future, but He’s also able to reach into the past and cut out the wasted years and stitch up our lives in such a way that even the scars eventually are removed.
Jeannie C. Riley
✞ Music “Need You Now (acoustic)” by Plumb
February 6, 2014 1 Comment
“Need You Now”
Well, everybody’s got a story to tell
And everybody’s got a wound to be healed
I want to believe there’s beauty here
‘Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on
I can’t let go, I can’t move on
I want to believe there’s meaning here
(Chorus)
How many times have you heard me cry out
“God please take this”?
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.
Standing on a road I didn’t plan
Wondering how I got to where I am
I’m trying to hear that still small voice
I’m trying to hear above the noise
(Chorus)
Though I walk,
Though I walk through the shadows
And I, I am so afraid
Please stay, please stay right beside me
With every single step I take
How many times have you heard me cry out?
And how many times have you given me strength?
(Chorus)
I need you now
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.
I need you now
I need you now
✞ Music “Oceans” by Hillsong United
February 4, 2014 6 Comments
“Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine
Judging Out Of Evil Motives
February 4, 2014 2 Comments
James 2:1-7 The Voice
My brothers and sisters, I know you’ve heard this before, but stop playing favorites! Do not try to blend the genuine faith of our glorious Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, with your silly pretentiousness. If an affluent gentleman enters your gathering wearing the finest clothes and priceless jewelry, don’t trip over each other trying to welcome him. And if a penniless bum crawls in with his shabby clothes and a stench fills the room, don’t look away or pretend you didn’t notice—offer him a seat up front, next to you. If you tell the wealthy man, “Come sit by me; there’s plenty of room,” but tell the vagrant, “Oh, these seats are saved. Go over there,” then you’ll be judging God’s children out of evil motives.
My dear brothers and sisters, listen: God has picked the poor of this world to become unfathomably rich in faith and ultimately to inherit the Kingdom, which He has pledged to those who love Him. By favoring the rich, you have mocked the poor. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it the rich who step on you while climbing the ladder of success? And isn’t it the rich who take advantage of you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones mocking the noble name of our God, the One calling us?
We are often mesmerized by the rich, powerful, and beautiful people of the world. We dream of associating with them; but when we focus our attention on the fashionable people of this world, it is often at the expense of those who need it the most.
Ignoring the needy and favoring the wealthy is completely contrary to the example Jesus modeled for us while walking on earth. God often chooses those who are the poorest materially to be the richest spiritually. We should welcome everyone equally into God’s kingdom, even if it means upsetting boundaries like class and race. The rule is simple: we should treat others in the same way we want to be treated. God does not play favorites, and neither should we.
✞ Music “So Far Gone” by Thousand Foot Krutch
February 3, 2014 0 Comments
“So Far Gone”
I know they say that the space between
Can make it stronger than we’ve ever seen
They might be right but I disagree
Cause I’ve never felt stronger than when you’re with me
Sometimes I wonder why you even care
Cause even when I leave you’re always there with me
And like a candle makes a brighter place
This mark you’ve made on me can’t be erased.
I wanna be so far gone in you
So far nothing else will ever do
I wanna be so far gone in you
In you..
I’ve stood alone and I’ve fallen down
Your hands were there to pick me off the ground
Sometimes I cry cause I can’t believe
Your love is big enough to cover me
Sometimes I’ve wondered if you’re even there
But when I feel far away you meet me there
And like a candle makes a brighter place
This mark you’ve made on me can’t be erased
Yeah..
I wanna be so far gone in you
So far nothing else will ever do
I wanna be so far gone in you
In you..
I wanna be so far gone in you
So far nothing else will ever do
I wanna be so far gone in you
In you..I wanna be lost
I wanna be lost in you
Like a ship in the night
I wanna get lost in you
Underneath your sky
I wanna be lost in you
Like a ship in the night
So far gone tonight
I wanna be so far gone in you
So far nothing else will ever do
I wanna be so far gone in you
In you…
So far gone in you
In you
In you
So far gone in you
Seeing Through The Fog
February 3, 2014 3 Comments
Faith is like radar that sees through the fog.
Corrie Ten Boom
✞ Music “Wild Things” by Andy Mineo
February 2, 2014 2 Comments
My Thoughts 💭
I love the lyrics & message in this fat tune! Turn up the subs and enjoy!! 🙂
“Wild Things”
[Hook]
I wanna go where the wild things are
I’m talking lions, tigers, bears (oh my)
Christ died for the terrible heart
That’s why I wanna be where the wild things are
[Verse 1]
Welcome to the church in the wild
I live with dudes haven’t been to church in a while
I’ve chosen this lifestyle, you ever met my friends?
Porn stars, dope dealers, they like, “Why you chill with them”?
I thought you was a Christian? Yeah I’m on that team
But I’m with them cause my life’s the only bible that they’ve ever seen
Some wanna be an earshot from the church bell
I wanna win souls, make gunshots in the worst hell
Telling ’em Christ became a curse for they sin with my words and my works
They won’t come in? I’m bringing church to them
Yeah, that’s why I live where I live
They say, “You acting cray, that ain’t no place to raise your kids”
But um, if we ain’t living it who else gon’ show em
What a family supposed to look like instead of them broken homes
Gotta be living stones around where they getting stoned
Live and know Him, die to make Him known ’til He take us home, let’s go
[Hook]
[Verse 2]
If you catch me in a bar where the wild things are
With my pastor and an entourage who loves God
Please don’t think that it’s odd, we kick it ’round broken hearts
Fishing for men, surrounded by sin but ain’t taking part
I talk about Jesus, all the Christians love me
I walk like Jesus now they wanna judge me, ain’t it funny?
I’m ducking stones thrown from the Pharisees
Gospel of Peace up on my feet like a pair of cleats
Walking with the Paraclete, that’s Greek for The Spirit
They say the wild things’ll eat you up
Who shall I fear when God is walking with me
If I die that’s a win, that’s the seed of the church plus I get to be with Him
And we so undefeated like Hanes made our sneakers
I had beef with Jesus and my sin it got deleted
So I gotta go and speak it to those who really need it
Let the Gospel off the leash, go and be where the beasts at
[Hook]
Expanding The Love In My Words
January 31, 2014 2 Comments
Above is a shcreenshot of an interview i’m working on using Logic Pro for Sarah’s audio version of her RNIB magazine. I’ve just found a plugin called “Expander” which i’ve never used before and it can help clean up the noise, hissing or humming behind the voice etc….
I’m sat here while using this great tool thinking “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if it was as easy as using a few dials & sliders to be able to clean up my speech and leave no bad noise behind my words!
Ephesians 4:29 The Voice
Don’t let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them.
A Stupendous Miracle
January 29, 2014 1 Comment
That the Potter should die for His clay is a stupendous miracle.
Lynn Landrum
✞ Music “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin
January 27, 2014 13 Comments
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.
Silly Idea
January 27, 2014 5 Comments
A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is… A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.
C S Lewis
A Good Marriage
January 24, 2014 4 Comments
There is no more lovely, friendly or charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage.
Martin Luther
We Need You
January 23, 2014 8 Comments
Father, help us to do your Word and not just hear it. Help us to live a life that is pleasing to you in what we say, what we watch, what music we listen to, what we wear, what we think, where we go, and how we live. help us to be mindful that we represent you.
Help us to live by and lift up the standard that has already been set by your Son. Bring us into alignment with your Word & your will for our lives. Help us to be better stewards over our time, over our finances, over our resources, over our families, and over all that you have given us. Let our delight be in the Lord, the Word of God. Help us To meditate on your Word day & night.
Please give us the Spirit of discernment so that your will for us might be made clear.
Help us Lord, we need you, in Jesus name, Amen.
Christianity
January 22, 2014 2 Comments
Christianity must mean everything to us before it can mean anything to others.
Donald Soper
✞ Music “Needing You (cover)” by Me & Charis
January 21, 2014 7 Comments
My Thoughts 💭
Me & Charis practising “Needing You” this evening, getting ready for Sunday morning at Church.
His Compassions Fail Not
January 21, 2014 11 Comments
Lamentations 3:21-25 King James Version
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
They Didn’t Stop
January 20, 2014 18 Comments
Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.
William Feather
Seeking HIS Face
January 20, 2014 7 Comments
2 Chronicles 7:14 King James Version
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
You Are The Only One
January 19, 2014 3 Comments
Remember, you are the only one who can keep you from becoming the person God wants you to be.
Neil Anderson
Know My Heart
January 18, 2014 0 Comments
Psalm 139:23-24 King James Version
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
What Are We Waiting For?
January 17, 2014 3 Comments
There are fathers waiting until other obligations are less demanding to become acquainted with their sons. There are mothers who sincerely intend to be more attentive to their daughters. There are husbands and wives who are going to be more understanding. But time does not draw people closer. When in the world are we going to begin to live as if we understood that this is life? This is our time, our day…and it is passing. What are we waiting for?
Richard L. Evans
The Faithful
January 16, 2014 0 Comments
Proverbs 28:20 King James Version
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
To Become Christ-like
January 16, 2014 0 Comments
To become Christ-like is the only thing in the whole world worth caring for, the thing before which every ambition of man is folly and all lower achievement vain.
Henry Drummond
Keep On Singing
January 15, 2014 4 Comments
Colossians 3:16 The Voice
Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness.
i Seek
January 14, 2014 5 Comments
Father, please give me courage to not lean on my own understanding. I know my thinking can be flawed and what I intend for good can blow up in my face. Please bless me with wisdom and insight as I seek to live for you in today’s confusing and immoral world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Unmindful
January 14, 2014 2 Comments
It is generally true that all that is required to make men unmindful of what they owe to God for any blessing, is, that they should receive that blessing often and regularly.
Richard Whately
Lying Religious Leaders
January 13, 2014 8 Comments
2 Peter 2:1-3 The Message
Lying Religious Leaders
But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They’ll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can’t tell right from wrong.
They give the way of truth a bad name. They’re only out for themselves. They’ll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won’t, of course, get by with it. They’ll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 Easy-to-Read Version
4 Before God and Jesus Christ, I give you a command. Christ Jesus is the one who will judge all people—those who are living and those who have died. He is coming again to rule in his kingdom. So I give you this command: 2 Tell everyone God’s message. Be ready at all times to do whatever is needed. Tell people what they need to do, tell them when they are doing wrong, and encourage them. Do this with great patience and careful teaching.
3 The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. But people will find more and more teachers who please them. They will find teachers who say what they want to hear. 4 People will stop listening to the truth. They will begin to follow the teaching in false stories.
The Most Excellent Way
January 11, 2014 0 Comments
1 Corinthians 12:31 The Voice
Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way—love.
1 Corinthians 13 The Voice
Gifts of the Spirit, which are intended to strengthen the church body, often divide the body because members of the church elevate those who possess the more visible gifts over those whose gifts function in the background. In fact, this is the very problem facing the Corinthians. So while talking about the importance and function of these gifts in chapters 12 and 14, Paul shifts his focus to the central role love plays in a believer’s life in chapter 13. Love is essential for the body to be unified and for members to work together. Members of the body that are very different, with little in common, are able to appreciate and even enjoy others because of the love that comes when a life is submitted to God.
What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. 3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts.
Paul boils it all down for the believers in Corinth. Religious people often spend their time practicing rituals, projecting dogma, and going through routines that might look like Christianity on the outside but that lack the essential ingredient that brings all of it together—love! It is a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers, so faith doesn’t appear to be meaningless noise.
4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. 8 Love will never become obsolete. Now as for the prophetic gifts, they will not last; unknown languages will become silent, and the gift of knowledge will no longer be needed. 9 Gifts of knowledge and prophecy are partial at best, at least for now, 10 but when the perfection and fullness of God’s kingdom arrive, all the parts will end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke, thought, and reasoned in childlike ways as we all do. But when I became a man, I left my childish ways behind. 12 For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain; these three virtues must characterize our lives. The greatest of these is love.
Tomorrow
January 11, 2014 3 Comments
Always put off until tomorrow what you shouldn’t do at all.
Morris Mandel
Nobody Ever Outgrows Scripture
January 10, 2014 1 Comment
Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the Book widens and deepens with our years.
Charles Spurgeon
Walk In The Way
January 7, 2014 2 Comments
There is only one basis for really enjoying life, and that is, to walk in the way in which God leads you. Then you are prepared to find delight in all sorts of wayward incidents….When a man is drifting through life, seeking nothing outside of self-gratification, the world must become increasingly a barren and forbidding wilderness. But it is wonderful how many delights fall to the lot of him who is led by God. For such a one the clasp of a friend’s hand, a cool drink in the heat of noon, a merry salutation from a passing traveler, a glimpse of beauty by the road, a quiet resting place at night, are all full of unspeakable pleasure.
Leaves of Gold
iChristian 
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