When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. -Mark Twain Happy Father’s Day!
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. This is one of my most favored Psalms of all-time. It has a humble and longing posture that is most important to anyone who truly wants to know and experience God. The idea of running after or seeking after God is exciting and adventurous. To me, His ways are past finding out, and you might be surprise about what you might discover about Him as you attempt to seek more of Him. Therefore, for the soul to truly live and thrive, and experience God in meaningful ways, one must understand the things that keep the soul alive and thriving and fight the things that try to hinder it. Because the soul is easily cast down. It easily loses hope and is easily troubled. So here are a few things to consider: A sustained hunger and thirst for God through shouts of worship and praise (verse 1 and …
The self loathing was a ‘beyond my control, caught in my throat’ kind of oppression. It led to the most emotionally excruciating pain I have ever experienced. The conversations in my mind were increasingly evil. So loud, yet they somehow made perfect sense to me. I planned ways to die. I yearned deep in my soul to leave the pain behind forever. I saw no end in sight. I would hear a voice whisper with such evil force, “You are not worth anything.” That was an awful voice, but it was familiar. Yet, I faintly heard another voice that never left me. Screaming, in the most comforting way, to help me. Heather Mertens You might enjoy reading: The devil inside me
Good Morning Everyone, I’m sorry about my absence. Lately, life has been super busy, and there are some new and exciting things happening, those I will share at another time. Just after midnight last night I took some time to pray, but I couldn’t find the words. So I started reading Psalm 31, a PowerFULL Psalm, and suddenly I knew exactly what to pray for. I’m sure you have been in that place before – you just don’t know what or how to pray, but the Holy Spirit shows and helps you to pray according to the will of God. As I read the Psalm four prayers stood out to me. Let me share them, maybe you could use them too: 4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me Traps set by the enemy of my soul. Traps set before because of success. Traps set by jealous friends. Traps set before me because of Kingdom advancement. And those by my own bad choices. Lord set me free! 8 set my feet in …
Welcome to the endless highschool Reunion. Welcome to past friends and lovers however kind or cruel Let’s undervalue and unmend the present. Why can’t we pretend Every stage of life is the same? Let’s exhume, resume and extend Childhood. L:et’s all play the game That occupy the young. Let fame And shame intertwine. Let one’s search For God become public domain. Let the Church.com become our Church. Let’s sign up, sign in, and confess Here at the altar of loneliness. -Sherman Alexie
Isaiah 48:8 In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances Isaiah 58:12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called repairers of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations Thank you! May God Bless these families!
You are hoping that works will get you what only faith can secure for you. Galatians 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? You deliberately tolerate and indulge the sinful nature. Hebrews 10:26 If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, You have forsaken your first love Revelation 2:4, 5/ You walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? Turn back! Recover your dear early love. You do not trust God, the scripture nor the church You are completely isolated from everything. That includes God and His people You have an unhealthy pursuit of money and material things You are vengeful and unwilling to forgive You have no desire for worship, prayer, obedience and church fellowship You no longer feel His presence, hear His voice, or fear Him You demand perfection of others Yet, you are longing, …
There was a social worker in Nigeria who not long ago was visiting a young man in one of the back streets of Lagos. On the bedside of this student he found the following books: the Bible; the Book of Common Prayer, I’m glad to see; the Koran; three copies of Watchtower, the magazine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses; a biography of Karl Marx; a book of yoga exercises; and a popular paperback that he particularly needed entitled How to Stop Worrying. That is typical of the modern mood, a mood of syncretism and of pluralism. The correct name for this aspect of postmodernism is pluralism. Pluralism does not just affirm the obvious fact that there is a plurality of cultures and ideologies and religions in the world. It goes beyond that. It says that all these claims should be respected equally, and we must therefore affirm the independent validity of every religion and every ideology. We must therefore give up the naïve and arrogant notion that we should try to convert anybody, let alone try to convert everybody. To those …
I read an article today entitled: Amanda Bynes: A Reminder that Mental Health Woes Flourish in Our 20’s? Sometimes these stories are written to mock and ridicule people for their erratic behavior. But as Christians we are called to show compassion for people. Mental Illness is no laughing matter and as the people of God, we need to talk about the subject because some of our brothers and sisters in church suffer from this illness. Here is a thought-provoking story I read on preachingtoday that I think could share some light. Let me share it with you here and leave you to answer the questions posed at the end of the article. Please feel free to leave a response. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. NPR’s popular radio show This American Life featured an episode titled “The Devil Inside Me.” The show asked various people if they ever felt like they were under the spell of an “inner voice” that held them in bondage to unwanted thoughts. According to the show’s host, “It was like people had waited all …
2 Samuel 11:1-26 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Read the rest of the chapter here Instead of going to war David decided to relax Instead of being there to lead, David decided to relax Instead of showing up to do his duty to country and to God, David decided to relax. Relaxation can be a good thing for a leader sometimes but not when the lives of …
Walter Bright 
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