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Monday, 19 October 2009
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Discipline vs. Training
Hebrews 12:5-13... Good stuff!"5And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,and don’t give up when he corrects you.and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”7As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?8If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.9Since we respected our earthly afathers who bdisciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the aFather of our spirits, and live forever?10For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.12So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.13Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."
* At first I wasn't sure if these verses applied to my situation, BUT after doing some searching... now I know they do! So I can apply this verse to my life knowing that I didnt make it fit my situation, but that it really does :) Man, I love God's Word! This strengthened me today, I hope it does the same for you... whoever you are :)
After reading verses 5-11 I was confused because it keeps saying "discipline"... but when we are disciplined, it is always the result of sin and disobedience. BUT after searching I found that discipline was translated from the greek word "paideuo" which can mean- either formal training or parental discipline and correction.... SO... HERE IS THE COOL PART!!!
I was like, "What the heck is the definition of "formal training???"... SO, I looked it up read some articles and here's what I got. Formal training is training that follows a designed form, in order to learn a lesson so that the job can get done right.
So then I read the verses again and put the word training in the place of discipline... now you do it... ok ok... I'll do it for you.
And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,5“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s training,and don’t give up when he corrects you.and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”7As you endure this divine training, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never trained by its father?8If God doesn’t train you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.9Since we respected our earthly afathers who trained us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the training of the aFather of our spirits, and live forever?10For our earthly fathers trained us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s training is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11No training is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.12So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.13Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."
* So sometimes even when we have not sinned and we have been obedient... we will go through hard times, but its not punishment... its training, so that we can do our job right... and whats our job? To get the Word out about Christ. So, I accept the training as a gift. Thank you Lord.
Saturday, 12 September 2009
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Great Article that helped me this week :) Enjoy!
Why Worry?
by Rick Warren“And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (Matthew 6:30 NLT).
Do you tend to expect the worst? Do you panic when you get a letter with IRS stamped on the envelope or when you hear a rumor about layoffs at work?
The word worry comes from an old English word meaning “to choke or strangle.” Of course, that’s exactly what worry does to your productivity and happiness. It’s a self-defeating waste of time.
In his famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25–34), Jesus gave four reasons for not worrying and the secrets of overcoming it:
1. Worry is unreasonable. To worry about something you can’t change is useless. To worry about something you can change is foolish! And every time you review a worry in your mind, it just gets bigger. Worry amplifies problems out of proportion.
2. Worry is unnatural. You weren’t born a worrier. It is a learned response to life. In fact, you have to practice to get good at it. Fortunately worry can be unlearned. The only species in God’s creation that worries is human beings. We don’t think God will take care of us.
3. Worry is unhelpful. It doesn’t work. It can’t change the past. It can’t control the future. It only makes you miserable today. Worrying about a problem never solves the problem.
4. Worry is unnecessary. God has promised to take care of you if you’ll trust him with the details of your life. As a child, if you asked your father for lunch money you never worried about where it would come from. That was his problem. Let God be God in your life! “God will take care of you, just have faith.”
How can I break the worry habit?
First, trust God with every area of your life: “But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to” (Matthew 6:32 LB).
Second, live just one day at a time: “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34 LB).
Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Psalms 73
Psalms 73
This Psalm is about a man who saw the wicked prosper... he saw good things come to the wicked while people with pure hearts struggled and were oppressed. He says in vs 13:
"Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence." Then in verses 16-17 he says, "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me,till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny."
We see crazy things going on in the world all around us... wickedness is rampant, and I have found myself wondering "Why?!?"... "I dont understand why?!?" When I try to take it all in and understand it myself I feel the same way this Psalmist felt. I feel frustarted, fearful,hopeless,and restless, BUT KEEP READING! In verse 17 it says, "till I entered the sanctuary of God, THEN I understood..."
We must stop viewing our lives situations, struggles, and frustrations through our own understanding and enter God's sanctuary (presence) so we can see how He see's.So we can see truth.So he can illiminate our frustrations and fears.
God says of his enemies in verse 18-19 "Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!"
This is truth! I think we lose understanding when we lose sight of truth.
The Psalmist saysin verses 23-24 & 26 "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory...My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Praise Jesus that when the world around us is losing it's mind, that we as God's kids have security in His sanctuary/ presence. I still dont understand everything... but I know the truth and that is all I need to know.
"God is King and He can do whatever he wants." P. Tim Dilena
Monday, 01 June 2009
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Conquer
Joshua 18:1b-3 "The country was brought under their control but their were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.So Joshua said to the Israelites 'How long will you wait before you take possesion of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?"
*These left over tribes were filled with laziness, selfishness and procrastination. They showed no passion to take the land. No desire to fulfill their commitment. They had to be prodded and pushed out of their comfort zone by their leader. They wouldn't have chosen by themselves to go and conquer... they only did it because they felt like they had to.
*The last seven tribes took the path of least resistance. Not only were they holding themselves back... they were holding back all of Israel from the fulfillment of God's promise!
*You know what I say... either conquer the land or GET OUT OF THE WAY!
*We all have land to conquer! We have to take the land from our enemy and win it for Christ.
*What land? our neighbors, our co-workers, our families, our friends, our classmates... and anyone else we come in contact with.
*In order to conquer the land we must first conquer ourselves, and this is the choice... either conquer the land (yourself) or it will conquer you.
*This requires discipline, passion for our calling (to seek and save the lost) and love for Christ and others above ALL else.
*Are you conquering or are you being conquered? How long will you wait before you take possesion... or should I say take responsibility?
Ready to conquer :) You with me?
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
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1 Timothy 1:18-19ish message
"... fearless in your struggle, keep a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we are in. There are some you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes, have made a thorough mess of their faith."
*After reading this I thought "Man, how many times have I relaxed my grip? Gotten comfortable? Am I there right now?
* I have begun to ask myself questions like:
"When have I stepped out in faith lately?"
* I have done some "nice things" for people... BUT, did it require faith? Does Christ have ALL of me? Have I been loving genuinely?
* We can become so absorbed in our own lives that we forget the reason we are alive... to grow in our love for Christ and others.
*For me... I have been reminded to tighten my grip on my faith and on myself.
*What does this mean for me?
-I must push in prayer for others
-I must be broken for the things that God is broken for.
-Genuine love must be my life, not my "ministry".
-My faith must increase
-I must know and love the Word more
Hmmm... It's going to be quite a year :) Thank you JESUS!
RealPants
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- Name: RealPants
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- Member Since: 9/8/2006
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I have lots of things that make me... me,so here it goes: I love Jesus and I love his word,these two things are the greatest things in life, Subway rocks my face off, I have the greatest friends and mentors in the world,green is by far my favorite color, I barely know anything about computer's but I try, I work with adorable 5 year olds...6 of them barely know any English... so cute, my favorite author is R.T. Kendall,I talk in so many different "voices" that sometimes I forget what my real voice sounds like, my favorite Biography Charles Finney,favorite place to shop Plato's Closet,I love to sing, my new favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and last but certainly not least I am convinced that my city is the craziest, coolest,and most diverse place on the map... I love it. Did I mention that I love Jesus? :)
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