All posts filed under: Christian Life

You can still dunk in the dark…

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At 8:48 p.m. the night of the Superbowl, Oreo tweeted this ad with the caption “Power out? No problem.” Since then, it’s been retweeted more than 14,000 times (and the same image on Facebook has gotten more than 20,000 likes) The agency behind the on-the-fly ad was 360i. And this is what they had to say about it: We had a mission control set up at our office with the brand and 360i, and when the blackout happened, the team looked at it as an opportunity An Opportunity! Boy, that should preach… According to Sarah Hofstetter, the president of 360i, “the big question is, what happens when everything changes, when you go off script?” And I will add – what do you do when life throws at you its greatest blow, it’s knock out punch – when all is dark around you? Some give up, throw in the towel, throw a pity party and sit around complaining when their darkest days hit. But I am confident that we can see our dark days as opportunities to reinvent ourselves, stay in the game, be creative and simply …

Fear is not real – It’s a choice…

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2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and sound-mind. The only thing we have to fear is fear it’self – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. FDR – First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 What are fears but voices airy? Whispering harm where harm is not. And deluding the unwary Till the fatal bolt is shot! Wordsworth Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. Edgar Wallace – The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1916) All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears–of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club, and of the words “Some Assembly Required. Dave Barry Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not? Luciano Pavarotti Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. German Proverb I was particularly struck by Will Smith’s …

Gold Digger

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And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Matthew 13:52 It is very unusual for people to find treasures, gold or diamonds lying around loose on the ground. They usually have to search for them. They have to dig – they have to work had. The deeper they dig and the header they work, the more rewarding it is upon finding some treasure. I read an article about a man of God who has about 60,000 hours of Bible study under his belt and over 20,000 books in his library. I must add, books he has read. He devotes time to the study of God’s word. Come to think about it, it shows in his ministry – the wealth and treasure of God’s word he always has something incredible to share. Scripture calls it having – “things new and old” – which is a Jewish phrase …

Celebrate Small Stuff

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The great Michelangelo once sculpted a figure out of marble as his friend stood by and watched. Well, this friend of his left for a business trip and after a while he returned and didn’t really see any significant progress in the work that Michelangelo was doing. Upon hearing the criticism of his friend, Michelangelo told him that he had indeed done some work on the marble figure by softening certain parts, straightening the lips, defining the muscles and polishing here and there on the marble figure. To his surprise, his friend said that his efforts were trifle. But Michelangelo replied, Trifles they may be, but trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle. Are you in the habit of celebrating the small things in your life? Do you stop and acknowledge how blessed you are? Marriages and relationships fail because spouses pay little or no attention to the little things. Believers live in fear and ingratitude because they fail to stop for a moment and count their blessings. New converts grow discouraged and sometimes …

Hungry

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Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2 One of the first questions a doctor may ask you upon your visit is, “how is your appetite?” Before he can make a diagnosis of what you are going through, he questions you about your appetite, because if you don’t have an appetite, you may need some medicine. When a Christian takes pleasure in all the latest gossip columns, and the latest entertainment magazines but has no appetite for the Word of God, that is a sign of a dangerous spiritual illness. But a strong appetite is one of the greatest spiritual gifts one could ever have. It drives one to read, to meditate and to study. It keeps him coming back for more and more and more. It helps one place a certain kind of value on the word; a certain kind of love for the word; a certain kind of devotion to the …

Ulterior Motives

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Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about and the motives of my heart; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life. Psalm 139:23 – 24 – The Message Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why you do the things you do as a believer? Have you ever questioned your motives and checked your heart to see just why you do the things you do in the name of God? What would you say if one were to ask you the following” Why do you go to church? Why do you read you bible? Why do you give financially to your church? Why do you volunteer? Why do you pray? Is it possible to completely miss the right reasons for the questions above? Look with me at a few passages that I think suggest that it is possible: Mathew 6:1-4 – Practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen …

Small stuff matters

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As the creator and ruler of all that is, God is in control of everything. He is Lord over all. He holds the world in the palm of his hand. But sometimes we forget to remember that he is not only concerned about the big things of life, but he is equally concerned about the little things – even the little things happening in our lives. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.Matthew 10:29-31 God watches over the tiniest most insignificant things in our lives. The word translated penny in our text is used proverbially to signify a very little thing. It is also rendered as a little piece of money and was the common prize of two sparrows. In fact, in the book of Luke, five sparrows were sold for two pennies, which makes them somewhat cheaper still (12:6). This …

Who do you say I am?

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And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Mark 8:29 Over the past two thousand years people have shown much curiosity about Jesus. From the experience his disciples had with him, leaving them with this question – “who is this man” to the speculations of his enemies trying to paint him as an imposter, a homosexual and a weirdo. But the question Jesus himself asked in our title couldn’t be more pertinent or well placed. I don’t think anyone other than those who walked, talked, touched, and had their lives completely transformed by this Jesus could best answer the question. Here are a few things they’ve said about him that truly explains who He is: Advocate – 1 John 2:1 Apostle of our profession – Hebrews 3:1 Atoning sacrifice for our sins – 1 John 2:2 Author of Life – Acts 3:15 Author of salvation – Hebrews 2:10 Bread of life – John 6:35 Chief Cornerstone – Ephesians 2:20 Chief Shepherd – 1 Peter …

Five reasons why we miss what God is doing now!

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And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV) In our text, Elijah had just come to this place from Mount Carmel where he saw God answered him by fire. Yeah! He prayed and fire fell from heaven. But when he came to this cave he thought that God will move in a similar way. And just like …