All posts tagged: Christ

Courage in the Valley

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In his book “Stepping Up” Dennis Rainey writes, “there are moments and seasons in life that a man can’t possibly prepare for. He is dropped into combat without warning.” He than goes on to share eight lessons he learned about tragedy and loss. Lessons he learned first hand after the passing of his third grandchild Molly. I would like to highlight five of the eight today to encourage you to realize that our greatest test as men come in the valleys of life and those are the times we need to man up and step up and show up. You don’t have to understand all of God’s purpose to step up and be His man You can still have doubts and step up You are no less a courageous man if you are faced with situations that you cannot fix and about which you don’t know what to do but cry out to God in prayer You will need another good man standing alongside you when you journey through the valley You must know the truth about who God …

Eyes open Prayer-walk

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Three more days to go! I will begin my 40 days prayer for community in three days and will continue to share articles, prayer tips and encouragement from SeekGodfortheCity. Today we are going to focus on prayer-walking or praying near the people you are praying for. There’s a story rolling in everyone’s life. God has done and will do good things in people’s lives. He does good things long before anyone opens their life to Christ. It’s the kindness of God that leads anyone to repentance (Romans 2:4). Meeting, following and serving Christ is always a lifelong story. The typical stories have multiple encounters and experiences that turn people closer to or further from Christ. Someone researching effective ways to lead people to Christ found that most people have no less than five significant encounters in which the message of the gospel registers at the heart level. On the verge of something good. As we connect with people in practical ways, those deep heart connections increase rapidly. I love to assume that God is on the verge …

What is the gospel?

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Part 3 We have shared some quotes from Greg Gilbert’s – What is the Gospel. Thanks to all of you for you comments. I would like to share just a few more quotes from the book. I hope you find something thought-provoking, after all this is the purpose of the post – to get you thinking critically about what you have come to believe about the gospel.. Take the last 5 quotes Repentance is more fundamentally a matter of the heart’s attitude toward sin than it is a mere change of behavior. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. This is actually a quote from Jim Elliot, the missionary. One of the greatest dangers the body of Christ faces today is the temptation to rethink and rearticulate the gospel in a way that makes its center something other than the death of Jesus on the cross in the place of sinners. At the end of the day, I wonder if the impulse to shove the cross out of the center of …

The Twenty Minute Window

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It is 2:41 in California and I just finish writing the last part to a 4 part blog series entitled All In. I said I would deliver the series in 4 day and I did, but I really struggle to get done. I had so many things to carry out this week so I found myself just one day off until 35 minutes ago. I hit the publish button and went to one of my favorite blogs to read and learn and be stretched. All of a sudden I’m gripped by what I am reading and by the time I’m finished, I realized that I had just stepped into my twenty-minute window to listen in silence to the voice of my creator. A word with power is a word that comes from silence. So say the Egyptian Desert Fathers of the third century A.D. So says one of my old spiritual mentors, the late Henri J. M. Nouwen. So says the life and speech of Mama Maggie of Cairo, one of my new spiritual mentors. Our world is wordy, says …

All In

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We have seen what it means to love the Lord with all your heart and with all you soul. Today, I will continue this blog series by sharing what it means to love the Lord with all your mind. This will be the 3rd part in this 4 part series ALL IN And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 The Mind is the seat of the intellect. Hebrews 11:3. To love God with all the mind is to love God through our thinking. Hebrews 11:3 says by faith we ‘understand’. What does it mean – “by faith we understand?” It means – “by faith we think.” Faith is not inconsistent with thinking. Sometimes we see faith as purely mystical. But true faith requires thinking, reasoning and rationality (Matthew 6). I understand that there are some things you just can’t explain, but I am deeply offended when our culture tells me that because I …

ALL IN

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I would like to introduce a four-part blog series that I will deliver over the next four days. I am taking my title from Mark 12:30 and I am going to unpack the verse talking about what it means to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I am praying that it will be a blessing to you. Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength Part 1: How to love the Lord with all you Heart According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. Proverbs 4:23 calls it the “wellspring of life.” The heart is also the seat of the conscience (Romans 2:15). It is naturally wicked (Genesis 8:21), and has the potential to contaminate life and character (Matthew 12:34; 15:18. Therefore, if the heart must love God fully and completely, a few things must …

The Christmas Story

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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. The Shepherds and the Angels And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear …

John 1:1 -3

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Creation Explained! The beginning – before this world was created – the word existed. This word was with God in the beginning. Well, God has no beginning so this word must have no beginning as well. For the bible say this word was “God”. By this word, everything was made, created brought into existence. We know that this word is Jesus because – the word became flesh and dwelled among us. So, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all have a creative imprint on our world. John 1:10; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:2; Gen. 1:2 Don’t believe in evolution… you were fearfully and wonderfully made by a loving creative God.

Selah – Hope of he broken world

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In the beggining Into the darkness The  Spirit’s moving upon the water You  spoke the words: “LET THERE BE  LIGHT!” Out of the chaos Came the promise The universe rose and applauded When You commanded The  new born sun to rise BRIDGE You are the Day Spring You are the Morning Star Creation’s splendor speaks of who You are You are Salvation You  are the Joy of the Earth Restoration comes Hope  of the broken world Into my  weakness Into my darkness Your Spirit’s moving upon my heart and You speak the words: “LET THERE BE  LIGHT!” Into my chaos Comes Your promise The new is rising the old is past on You are reviving and making all things right [  From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/hope-of-the-broken-world-lyrics-selah.html  ]BRIDGE You are the Day Spring You  are the Morning Star Creation’s  splendor speaks of who You are You  are Salvation You are the Joy of  the Earth Restoration comes Hope of the broken world ARISE SHINE THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAS RISEN ARISE SHINE THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAS …