All posts tagged: faith

Merry Christmas

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Wishing you the 5 words of Christmas So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love… 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV Behold… I bring you good tidings of great joy. Luke 2:10 Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace. Luke 2:14 May Faith come alive in you this Christmas because it makes all things possible May Hope shine through for you this Christmas because it makes all things work May Love burst forth in you this Christmas because it makes all things beautiful May Joy abound for you this Christmas because it makes you strong in the Lord. May Peace abide with you this Christmas because it surpasses all understanding and guides the heart and mind. Merry Christmas Everyone!

What is the chief end of man?

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WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Psalm 86; Isaiah 60:21; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31 Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. Psalm 16:5-11; Psalm 144:15; Luke 2:10; Philippians 4:4 Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach? A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Matthew 19:4-5; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2Peter 3:2, 15-16 Q. 4. What is God? A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Deuteronomy 4:2; Isaiah 8:20; John 20:30-31; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 John 1:4 Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one? A. There is …

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 …

12 Powerful words or phrases that command heaven’s attention

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Part 2 The next six words or phrases I find powerful and commanding are from the very lips of Jesus. On each one of these occasions, something extraordinary happens after his declaration. Here are six of them: 7. It is finished… When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit… And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. John 19:30; Mark 15:38 8. Lazarus come out… Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone… he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out…” The man who had died came out… John 11:40-44 9. I am He… Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said …

12 Powerful words or phrases that command Heaven’s Attention

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Part 1 The bible say “without faith it is impossible to please God.” God is always pleased when His children exercise their faith. It attract his attention and pleases him enormously. Here are a few instances in the bible when faith caught heaven’s attention: Our God is able to deliver… Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us… and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. Daniel 3:16-24 Just say the word… I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, …

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 …

Purified 7 Times

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The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. (Psalm 12:6, 7 ESV) Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Proverbs 30:5 ESV) Everyday we go about life looking for something we can rely on. Something that is constant, trustworthy, immovable. We want relationships that are reliable. We want people we can count on. Friends who will deliver on their promises. Husbands we can trust. Wives we know will be there, when the going gets tough. A career or a job that will be there even in tough economic times. I think this is a fundamental human need. Well, I’ve come to find security and reliability in God through Jesus Christ and his word. You can too! When the scripture says that God’s words are pure, refined, and purified 7 times, it insists that they have no lies, flattery, insincerity or …

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: taste them again for the first time

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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, 3 A few years ago when the cereal giant Kellogg began to see the Corn Flakes drop in sales, they came up with a brilliant idea – an add that went like this: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: Taste them again for the first time. Sometimes life can become a bowl of soggy corn flakes – but you need to taste it again in order to fall in love with it (life) again. Maybe it’s your marriage, ministry, work, hobby, Christian life, church, evangelism, prayer life, Bible reading, hospitality, small group, girls night out, family bike ride – that thing you once enjoyed doing, but now have become lifeless, meaningless and even boring. You need to taste it again for the first time – you might rediscover your first-love – Revelation 2:4 In Picture – my boy SB

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 …