All posts tagged: Christian

Give me a treat or I will play a trick on you

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How it all started 2,000 years ago, the Celts started the holiday, calling it Samhain (pronounced: “Sow-in”). The Celts celebrated the New Year on November 1 and believed that the night before was a transitional period from a time of harvest, light and warmth (summer/fall) into a period of death, darkness and cold (winter). They believed that the spiritual and physical realms overlapped during that night and that spirits could then walk the earth. They put on scary masks and lit bonfires to scare away evil spirits. To guide the spirits of their dead relatives home, they put candles in their windows. In 43 A.D. the Romans conquered the Celts, and Samhain became combined with two Roman holidays. The first holiday, Feralia, was a day to honor the dead, and the other was to celebrate Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees (some think this is where “bobbing for apples” comes from). By the seventh century, Pope Boniface the IV declared November 1 as “All Saints Day” or “All Hallows.” This is why October …

The Bible is a book of Alignment

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The Bible is a book of alignment – you either align or you malign. Titus 2:3-5 speak out the things that make for solid doctrine…so that no one will malign the Word of God Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone to malign God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. The idea behind this phrase – Things which are proper for sound doctrine – has to do with right living, not just right thinking. The Living Bible translates this “Speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity.” The New …

What must I do To Inherit Eternal Life?

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Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. This video reminds me of how simple yet deep and profound the gospel message is. Preaching here, Billy Graham, a true and humble man of God, delivers a powerful gospel message. Have you given your life to Jesus yet? Today is your day don’t let it slip away. <;a

Hudson Taylor Part 2 (The matter of giving and receiving)

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I am not a pastor who encourages his congregation to give because of what they can get out of it. That does not mean they shouldn’t give. Having said that, the matter of giving is almost never just the matter of giving. According to Paul in Philippians 4:15, “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only” – it is the matter of giving and receiving. You never ever hardly give and don’t receive – even though receiving is not the motivation here – there is always a receiving. And God determines that which is received. Here is a story in the life of Hudson Taylor that explains this: This is an excerpt from the biography of the life of Hudson Taylor In November, 1851, Hudson moved his lodging to a noisy suburb of Darinside, a neighborhood on the edge of town. Here he began a rigorous …

Hudson Taylor Part 1 (Compelled by the Spirit)

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  I don’t know about you… I love it when God put other people on my heart to pray for them. Sometimes it come to me through a dream, other times it comes it is like a heavy burden or an uneasiness that just drops you to your knees in prayer… especially when you want to sleep and can’t close your eyes because you have this person or thing on your mind. Or you find yourself just thinking about this person and situation incessantly with a strong desire to pray or at least reach out. I humbly report that I have seen vision and heard the audible voice of God concerning these things, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that deep. I am sure you have found yourself thinking about somebody during your day and you called them – so you called them and your call was right on. You found out that it was a marriage under pressure, a kid out of control, a medical report that is devastating, a robbery on the way. God …

A Passionate call to seek, preach and live truth

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preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:2-5 P4CM presents Rhetoric 2012, the largest Christian Poetry event. Featured P4CM Poet Jackie Hill delivered her poem “Jig-A-Boo” in front of an audience of nearly 3,000 people. For more poetry and to know when the next Rhetoric will take please check out: http://www.P4CM.com

Great Leaders can never fail. Uh… Come Again?

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You heard me! Great leaders never fail. No! I’m just kidding. I have never met a leader who doesn’t fail. We are all made of flesh and bones so we all fail from time to time. Somebody once said, “the better a man is, the more mistakes he will make.” So, I love the idea of failing forward because it conveys a positive attitude and perspective on the mistakes leaders are bound to make. Check out these quotes and get some inspiration: “Don’t buy into the notion that mistakes can somehow be avoided. They can’t be.” – John Maxwell “’Failing forward’ is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.” – John Maxwell “Failure is not a one-time event; it’s how you deal with life along the way. Until you breathe your last breath, you’re still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better.” – John Maxwell “It’s hard to beat a person who …

My Grace is sufficient for you…for my power is perfected in weakness

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Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I …

Conflict Resolution: Three Thing To Avoid

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If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15 1. Do everything in your power to avoid using email, text messages, or Facebook and twitter to either confront or respond to any conflict related issues. Chances are you will be misunderstood. Chances are the problem may take longer to be resolved. Chances are the problem could be blown out of proportion. Meet face to face, resolve the issue, give your apology, affirm your love or appreciation for each other, and recommit to the relationship. If this first step doesn’t work, study Matthew 18, all the while, staying humble, prayerful and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 2. Always remember #1 3. Never forget # 1 Conclusion: Sometimes a conflict can happen between people living far apart geographically. In this instance a simple apology may suffice. Recognize your fault, humble yourself, give no excuses, give no explanations, just say – I’M Sorry!

Forget What Your Mom or Teacher Say – You Aren’t So Special All

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We are tempted to view the routines and ruts of everyday life with derision. Courtney Reissig In a recent article in The New York Times, Alina Tugend asks the same question. Contemplating the accolades of her own children, the NYT columnist writes, “I wonder if there is any room for the ordinary any more, for the child or teenager—or adult—who enjoys a pickup basketball game but is far from Olympic material, who will be a good citizen but won’t set the world on fire.” She notes that for some “in this world, an ordinary life has become synonymous with a meaningless life.” These days, success is measured by the extraordinary rather than the mere faithful or honest. As Tugend says, “we have a need to be exceptional.” And she wonders if this is all a good thing. We can’t all be the next innovative inventor, best-selling author, or Olympic medalist. The reality is that most of us will live our lives in the routine and mundane. This is true as much for Christians as it …