“In this age, telling the truth is tough business and not for the fainthearted.”
R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Tag Archives: Telling The Truth
Honourable Intentions & Horrible Implementation
December 31, 2013 
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“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” – Oprah Winfrey
New Year’s resolutions usually reveal honourable intentions and horrible implementation. It’s not a coincidence that we joke far more about breaking resolutions than we talk about making them. It seems like the best way to break a promise is to make one with your whole heart. What’s the problem? Resolutions focus on you. But revolutions focus on God.
Revolutionary Statement #1: To get an accurate view of yourself, focus on Him!
Agur, who wrote Proverbs chapter 30, gives an excellent example of this kind of focus:
“Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!” – verses 2-4
The answer to all of the questions is GOD, not ME. But even the best sounding New Year’s resolutions focus on what you can do rather than on what God has done and is doing. One of the favorite Christian New Year’s resolutions is: I’m going to have a quiet time of prayer and Bible study every day. I’m all for that, by the way, but it sets you up for failure because the focus is on you, and not on Him. Can you see that?
A revolutionary prayer, on the other hand, would be focused on God, asking Him to reveal Himself in any way that He sees fit – through the Word, through prayer, through nature, etc. Someone who makes resolutions believes they can get closer to God by their own strength. But the heart of a godly revolutionary is honest about his ignorance and inability to understand and relate to God on his own.
Lord, I want to know You more. Deep within my soul I want to know You. In the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I ask that You would stir up this desire I have to be intimate with You. I depend on You today, and every day this year, to reveal Yourself to me in any way that You choose. Amen.
Article by Pete Briscoe
Impressions About Christmas
December 20, 2013 4 Comments
“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Most of our impressions about Christmas revolve around concepts like “peace” and “harmony” and “unity.” But the first Christmas was filled with intense contrasts. On one hand, we have Herod who is willing to murder countless innocent babies in order to save his position as king. Then there are the three Magi, the wise men from the east:
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. – Matthew 2:11
These were gifts of great monetary and symbolic value:
- MYRRH was a substance used in embalming fluid. This little boy had been born to die as the Savior of mankind! So in giving that gift, the wise men said, “You are Savior, You are worthy to be trusted, we trust You fully.”
- INCENSE was burned in the Tabernacle and in the Temple as an act of worship to God. In giving frankincense, they were saying, “You are God, and You are worthy to be worshiped!”
- GOLD was a gift given to kings. In giving the gold to Jesus, they said, “You are King, You are worthy to be followed.”
There was a time when your sinful nature was inclined to do what Herod did – clinging to and defending your position as king of your own life. But now that you are in Christ, now that your sinful nature has been crucified with Him (Romans 6), now that His Holy Spirit lives within you (Romans 8), you can listen to His voice that invites you to bow down and worship the Child as Savior and King today.
Jesus, my Lord! With great joy, I follow the leading of Your Spirit in my heart today. I bow before You as my Savior and my King. May my words, thoughts, and actions all be expressions of sincere worship to You. Amen.
Marriage
May 31, 2013 15 Comments
My Thoughts 💭
One of my fave ministries is “Telling The Truth” and this is an article on marriage by Pete Briscoe
💬 Quote 4 2day
“Getting married for sex is like buying a 747 for the free peanuts.” —Jeff Foxworthy
The Pew Poll reports that 44% of Americans under 30 believe that marriage is heading for extinction, but 95% of Americans want to get married someday.
That’s interesting, isn’t it?
There’s skepticism, but also intrigue. They know there’s something dynamic and special about this relationship, but our culture keeps saying, “Marriage was great for your grandparents, but it’s unnecessary bondage for this age of freedom.”
Time magazine recently ran a cover that simply asked in big letters, “Who needs marriage?” Good question. How would you answer?
Lie number 1: Marriage is an archaic institution irrelevant for enlightened modern people. Many believe this lie, the rest of us need to ask ourselves if marriage is even worth it. Why do we even need this anymore?”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. —Genesis 2:24
This is the way God always intended it: one man, one woman coming together, becoming one, enjoying oneness in Christ. It’s God’s original plan, and it’s meant to last. He’s never rescinded it. Marriage is simply one of God’s great ideas.
I’ve done dozens of weddings over the years, and I start them all the same way:
“Marriage is:
- A holy estate.
- Instituted by God.
- Commanded in Scripture for all who enter it lawfully and in true affection.
- Confirmed by Christ’s solemn words and consecrated by His gracious presence at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee.
- Set forth by the apostle as signifying the mystical union between Christ and the Church.
- Ordained for the consecration of union between man and woman so that the natural instincts being directed aright they might live in purity and honor.
- Ordained for the increase of mankind and that children might be brought up in the fear and the nurture of the Lord.
- Ordained for companionship, health, and comfort, which husband and wife ought to have of each other.
- Ordained for the welfare of human society which can be strong and happy only where the marriage bond is held highly in honor.”
- Satan lies. The truth is that marriage is divine, timeless, and significant. You might be in it or out of it—either way, marriage is partof God’s eternal purpose for the Body of Christ… and it will be until death we do part.
🙏 Prayer 4 2day!
God, make me a vessel of Your truth. When I begin to doubt the validity and need of marriage, make me willing to take that thought captive. By Your Spirit and Your Word, convict me of Your divine purpose in the marriage covenant for my good and for Your glory. Amen.
My Prayer For 2013
January 2, 2013 0 Comments
“Dear God, my prayer for 2013 is a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don’t mix these up like you did last year.” – Unknown
New Year’s resolutions seem to have more clout when they sound nice and spiritual. Another popular Christian New Year’s resolution is this: I’m going to read through the Bible in a year! I’m going to start in Genesis and by the end of December I’ll be finishing up in Revelation!
Again, I’m all for that! But that type of resolution is not a revolutionary statement. Try this on for size:
Revolutionary Statement Number Two: The Bible is living, accurate, and adequate. I’m going to allow it to speak to me.
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” – Proverbs 30:5-6
God’s Word is true. He told us that thousands of years ago and it’s still true today. Not only is it accurate, it’s adequate. We tend to add a lot of stuff to it like books, CDs, tapes, music, and videos. There is nothing wrong with those things, unless they start to take the place of your Bible.
The big problem with resolutions dealing with Bible reading is (again) that the focus is on you and what you do, rather than on God and what He does. Rather than making a Bible reading resolution, how about this for a New Year’s revolution instead? Rather than trying to get through the Bible in a year, what if you ask God to let the Bible get through you this year?
See the difference!? How about opening yourself up and letting the living Word of God impact your life as it chooses? What would happen if your focus was not on reading a certain number of passages a day, but rather on allowing the Holy Spirit to soak the Word into your soul, and change who you are as a person, and change how you live every day?
Heavenly Father, I praise You that You have given me the Living Word – Your words – through which I can hear from You and experience You. When it comes to my Bible, focus my heart on my relationship with You moment by moment, rather than my reading habits over the course of a year. Amen.
A New Year Revolution!
December 31, 2012 0 Comments
“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes… Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” – G. K. Chesterton
Over the next couple of days, hundreds of millions of people around the world will engage in one of the most common annual rituals on the planet: The “New Year’s Resolution.” I did a Google search for “New Year’s Resolution” awhile back, and 980,370 sites popped up! That’s a lot of “resoluting” going on out there every year!
Personally? I don’t like New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never done them, and if I had, I never would have kept any of them.
I looked up resolution in the dictionary, and it said, “Determination with firmness and intention to change what I’m going to do.” Theoretically and theologically, I actually have a problem with that.
Think about it! A resolution is supposed to change you by changing your behavior. That is actually backwards from the New Testament which reveals that your behavior is changed by an awareness of this fact: Christ has ushered in a dynamic revolution that transforms you from the inside out.
Revolution, on the other hand, is defined as “a radical change in constitution… to change completely.” But the traditional pattern this time of year is to make resolutions, rather than allow revolutions. Paul had something to say about that:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. – Romans 12:2
Over the next two weeks I am going to take you through Proverbs 30, which contains nine radical revolutionary statements. If taken seriously, they can be used by the Spirit to completely change who you are as a person. These are specific transformations that are caused by the revolution Christ has begun in your heart.
May you start this new year not with temporary resolutions that are bound to fail, but by committing to the eternal revolution that Christ is bringing about in your heart!
Holy Spirit, please take the powerful, unchanging truths of Scripture and make them alive in fresh new ways each day of this coming year. Amen.
iChristian 
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