All posts tagged: Christianity

Footprints – Leaving a Legacy

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In his book, Crazy Love, Francis Chan tells a story about a very young girl by the name of Brooke Bronkowski that challenged me in such a way that I found myself saying I want to be like Brooke when I grow up. Brooke was a 14 year of girl… loved Jesus, started and led a bible study group at her school. According to Chan At age 12 she wrote the following: I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with troubles. You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I’ll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the …

15 Tips for blogging from John Newton/ Part 3

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11. Learn to blog your observations more freely, especially if you are bent towards a stilted formalism. “I wish you not only to write a good hand, but a good letter; and the whole art is to write with freedom and ease. When you take your pen in hand, pop things down just as they come to your mind; just as you would speak of them without study” (6:304). 12. Blog humbly and in faith, knowing the Lord will lead you to offer a “word in season” for your readers in their time of need. “I love to give up my heart and pen, without study, when I am writing. The Lord knows the state of my friends, their present temptations, etc and I look to him to give me a word in season” (6:42). 13. Pray that God would fill your soul with divine joy as you write, that this joy would be communicated on the screen, resulting in a shared joy with your reader. “Oh! that the power of God would set my …

7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians

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Charles Nobles once said, “first we make our habits, then our habits make us.” We are what we repeatedly do. And if we ever want excellence in our lives, we need to remember that it “is not an act, but a habit.” Some habits are good, others very bad and still some are of no value or eternal significance. However, to effectively impact the people around us and leave a lasting impression, we must develop good habits and do everything in our power to unlearn bad ones. I would like to leave you with 7 Habits of highly effective christians. By their constant practice of 7 biblical principles they do not only excel in their knowledge of God, devotion to the Lord, ministry and calling, they also effectively inspire and challenge others to personal development and growth. They give cheerfully Their primary motivation is not what they will get out of their giving. They are more interested in being a blessing than receiving a blessing. They are kingdom driven and what ever promotes the work of …

Don’t Toot your own Horn

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Take heed that you do not your give alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does:  That your alms may be in secret: and your Father which sees in secret himself shall reward thee openly. When it come to bragging or boasting about our accomplishments or achievements, some people have a hard time reining it in. Because of that lack of self-control they come across as proud, boastful and obnoxious. I understand that there is usually tension, especially for professionals, between selling oneself and humility. To be frank, even people who find themselves on church staff or on staff at other christian organizations, struggle with the tension between humility and standing out. But whatever situation you find yourself, the biblical principle of humility still stands. …

Tabitha Arise

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The raising of the dead to life is something humanly speaking too difficult to even comprehend. Is it really possible for a dead person to live again? Many a few doubt that it is possible. But for those of us who have faith in the one who Made the heavens and the earth, it is not only possible, it should be expected in this life and for the life to come. The raising of the dead to life is something only God can do. It is exclusively reserved for God. He alone holds the key to life and death. He alone can give it and he alone can take. There are several places throughout the bible about the dead being raised to life: The widow’s son in 1 Kings 17:17-24, God used Elijah. The Shunamite’s son in 2 Kings 4:20-37, God used Elisha. The dead man tossed into Elisha’s tomb in 2 Kings 13:21, God used bones of Elisha. The widow’s son who lived in Nain in Luke 7:11-17, raised by Jesus Christ The Synagogue ruler’s daughter in Mark …

15 Tips on Blogging from John Newton/ Part 2

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6. Blog to offer both converting and comforting grace to your reader. “Oh, that my heart may take fire as I write! Surely I am in my better judgment persuaded, that life is not worth a desire, but as affording opportunity to spread the savor of his name, to set him forth in my ministry, for the comfort of his people and the salvation of poor sinners” (6:153–154). 7. Make it your constant aim to blog with the intent of prospering your reader in God. “The hour is approaching, and, at my time of life, cannot be very distant, when my heart, my pen, and my tongue, will no longer be able to move in their service. But I trust, while my heart continues to beat, it will feel a warm desire for the prosperity of souls; and while my hand can write, and my tongue speak, it will be the business and the pleasure of my life, to aim at promoting their growth and establishment in the grace of our God and Savior” (3:304–305). 8. …

An Evening Prayer

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Dear Lord I am waiting in a silent prayer I am frightened by the load I bear I am aware that this world can be cold and cruel I am afraid, cuz sometimes this path can be very lonely Please hear these words of mine: Be with me now, hold me together, Be forever near me, lighten my darkness, Pour over me Your holiness

15 Tips on blogging from John Newton

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Maybe some of you have lost your way and need to reevaluate your purpose and motives for blogging, or maybe some of you have thought about blogging but you don’t know how or what to blog about especially as a believer – I have just the right post for you. Something that will inspire you to greatness.  If you’ve followed me for a while, you should know that I’m new to blogging in so many ways and I am still learning new things. For many months, I felt the loneliness in the blogger-sphere and wanted to give up. But I found inspiration, encouragement, friendship and got some gentle corrections and very good tips from many of you. I’m still not really good at writing, my funny accent causes me to spell thing the way I pronounce them, but I’m making progress. I actually wanted  to say that I make my living from talking (after all, 12 years as a radio host and 21 years as a pastor is a good excuse), but I realized that it was …

Biblical Descriptions of the Atonement

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Sometimes we read the bible and it all seems like gibberish, nothing makes sense and nothing connects. But with a closer look, everything falls in place. When it comes to getting a message across, the Lord has done a great job making himself amply clear. Nothing is vague, hidden or obscure, if, through the eye of the Holy Spirit, we could just stay patient and dig a little deeper – That’s when all these gems, treasures begin to unfold. Type of Language Biblical Words Human Need The Result Language of OT sacrifices Blood, lamb, sacrifice We are guilty We are forgiven Language of personal relationships Reconciliation We are alienated from God We are brought back into intimate fellowship with God Language of righteous anger at wrongdoing Propitiation We are under God’s holy wrath God’s wrath is satisfied/quenched Language of the marketplace Redemption, ransom We are enslaved We are set free Language of the law court Justification We are condemned We are pardoned and counted as righteous Language of the battlefield Victory, deliverance, rescue We are …