Sin is not ultimately against other people; it is against God. Sin is preferring the world to God. Sin is when we are not satisfied with God; we need the world to satisfy us. Such behavior is the outgrowth of a deceitful heart; a heart not truly focused on the pure and perfect imaginations of God.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Prodigal: I hope you have something encouraging to say also!
This is from the book Overcoming Spiritual Blindness by James P. Gills, M.D.
The transition to a living faith is found in understanding and acknowledging justification: we are justified before God–instantly, when we believe–by Christ’s work on the cross. Then, sanctification is the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives to release us from bondage and change our lives. When we embrace God, seek the Holy Spirit, and abandon ourselves, we come to know Him personally and His grace becomes more and more a part of us. Then, in unification, change becomes corporate as well as individual–within one person and the church. We are on Body in Jesus Christ and are called to work together through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must work within us; without the Holy Spirit there is no life in Christ and no vision.
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. Luke 22:14 (KJV)
This is from the book Overcoming Spiritual Blindness by James P. Gills, M.D.
You were created to do something–individually created for a time such as this. Your purpose, in God’s plan, is the most important aspect of your life now and in the future. But it can only be realized by walking in faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). It is your salvation in Jesus, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and abiding faith in God that open your eyes to the truth. It is God’s truth of seeking intimacy with the Lord and submitting yourself unreservedly at His feet—loving and serving in His name–which is your meaning, purpose, and desire. It is when God reveals His glory and truth to you that you truly see. God has a glorious purpose for you. Have you embraced it?
See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; Deuteronomy 30:15 (KJV)
This is from the book Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
Leaders must draw the best out of people, and friendship does that far better than prolonged argument or more logic. John R. Mott counseled leaders to “rule by the heart. When logic and arguments and other forms of persuasion fail, fall back on the heart-genuine friendship.”
Robert A. Jaffrey played a major role in opening Vietnam to the Gospel. He did so largely because of this quality that all great leaders share. “Nothing can take the place of affection…..Intellect will not do. Bible knowledge is not enough. Jaffrey loved people for their own sakes. He was happy in the presence of human beings, whatever their race and color.”
But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. 2 Samuel 5:17 (KJV)
This is from the book God’s Psychiatry by Charles Allen
This Psalm of David has sung its way across the barriers of time, race, and language. For twenty-five centuries it has been treasured in the hearts of people. Today it is more beloved than ever before.
The reason it lives? Not just because it is great literature. Because it tells that above all the strife and fears, the hungers and weaknesses of mankind, there is a Shepherd.
A Shepherd who knows his sheep one by one, who is abundantly able to provide, who guides and protects and at the close of the day opens the door to the sheepfold–the house not made with hands.
In the quietness of the South Pole Admiral Byrd suddenly realized he was “not alone.” That assurance caused faith to well up within him, and even though he stood in “the coldest cold on the face of the earth,” he felt a comforting warmth.
The Twenty-third Psalm gives men that same assurance. That is why it lives in the hearts of men, regardless of race or creed.
And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. Genesis 41:48 (KJV).
Prodigal: Yes, Easter and what it means, will give you answers.
This is from the book If I Should Die Before I Live by Joe LoMusio
If I were to ask you to describe Easter without using any words, you could only use punctuation marks, which punctuation mark would you choose to describe this Easter for yourself? Maybe this Easter is a comma for you. It makes you stop, pause, think, and listen, but that’s about it. Perhaps today is a downer–a big bold period. You thought you’d feel excited, but instead it seems to be more like an empty ritual. You feel like you’re not on the inside, but on the outside…an onlooker.
It was a day when life felt like a period for Jesus’ disciples. He was dead. He was buried. And end to expectations. But wait–news of an empty tomb…the period is no longer a period, it’s a question mark. That’s worse than a period. Now they’re beginning to doubt. Where is He? They’re perplexed. The guards are gone, the stone is rolled away. He is not there. And if not there, where?
An angel speaks, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen, Remember how He spoke to you while He was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and how He must be crucified, and the third day He must rise again.” Of course they remembered! The periods are gone. The question marks are removed. There is one massive exclamation point!
That’s what Easter is all about….an exclamation of gratitude and of praise for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and for the salvation His victory over death brought to us.
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Prodigal: There is more than one way to skin a cat.
Me: Let’s see how we can rework this.
This is from the book It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst
The enemy would love to distract, derail, and destroy me today. But I am choosing to fix my eyes on the Lord and the path of integrity that He has chosen for me. With the Lord by my side, I am a woman of courage. A woman who considers her choices carefully and thinks before she acts. I will not turn to the left or to the right, blindly following paths that will lead to my destruction. Instead, I will be a woman who stays in step with the Lord, knowing that He will keep my ways steadfast and sure.
Psalms 37:8-9 (ESV)
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
