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Have You Thought About? |
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Battle of the Wills – Overcoming Life's Problems! |
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xxxOur will is a spring loaded door opening to its own purpose, time and direction. When I got my first car my only purpose was to be cool because I thought I had the power and direction was no concern. When the Holy Spirit came into my life His direction became more of the focus because power, purpose, and timing are in His control anyway! xxxOur mind is made to follow one direction at a time. Left, right, forward and reverse simplifies to His way or our way. This is only done through prayer and submission. How often do we seek prayer and search His will; hold your breath and time the seconds. Little decisions matter! xxxLife's problems crush so many because of blame, grief, jealousy, hate... things impossible to overcome in our “finite” world without God's solutions. Since our problems are not more than we can bear: Psalm 34:17, 1 Corinthians 10:13, God expects us to be thankful “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God...” 1Thessalonians 5:16-18. xxxA problem is less of a problem (challenge) because Jesus will turn it to good: Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God...” John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches... apart from me you can do nothing”. |
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Whats the Simple Answer? |
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xxx“Faith acting through love” Paul said “is the only thing that matters” Galatians 5:6. Which leads to a more important question; how do we do this? xxxDefinition for faith by itself is “...lf I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing” 1 Corinthians 13:2. Definition for Love (of God): “Love never fails” 1 Corinthians 13:8. So combining the two completes the formula. xxxNow faith is so important it is like climbing a mountain; superficial things go away when you focus. But faith has to be going in the right direction, not like what I did when I decided to climb a water tower to “prove” my faith when I first got saved. Please bypass this stage! It only takes a little while to notice that not everyone is climbing. Many people are hanging out on the bottom bumping into to whatever problems that come their way! xxxThere are many aspects of faith including correction but Paul made an important point: what is not of faith is sin Romans 14:24. xxxThe big answer is what is required of our faith is subject to receiving Gods love! Why? “Love is always patient; love is always kind; love is never envious or arrogant with pride. Nor is she conceited, and she is never rude...” 1 Corinthians 13:4-5. Any actions without the presence or purpose of God is another manner of self righteousness, religion, or disobedience, which is the opposite of scripture above! The simple answer is to bring our faith full circle in God's love! xxxEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above... James 1:17, ...think about these things. Philippians 4:8. |
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The Gift |
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xxxIt's sad that the message of the birth of Christ that and the gift of eternal life has somehow been replaced by a simple “Happy Holiday card”. Such a pure gift of the redemption of our souls must be rejoiced and shared! God's gift of salvation can't be kept to ourselves! xxxSharing this beautiful message is special, even fun! There are only about 20 lies Satan will use against you along with a rare but occasional verbal bashing (I'm “X” military, nothing new here). Since our witness is almost never forced but shared with humble authority; you will be amazed how much people will listen/need this message! xxxTalking to people about their faith is essential! It is not too personal to ask, “how would you get to heaven/are you born again/would you like to say the salvation prayer to get to heaven”? Since this is the only solution for eternal life anyway, we should try to head straight to the answer, “would you like to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin and have eternal life? You don't even need an outreach program. It's way too simple. I am reminded how simple it is for a waitress to ask “would you like some water”, and yet are we willing to ask “this living water taste good, would you like some”? God's gift is easy to give away. xxxGod will challenge us to kick start our witness. It's OK to receive help from others. The website below gives you fun free handouts such as Happy Frog “hop to Jesus” link A below or Answers to Tough Questions see link B below. A good video to watch is link C below. xxxThe early Christians went out just with this simple message of eternal life through faith in Jesus. John 7:38 says “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. This life giving gift we share is as fundamental as prayer, reading your Bible, and gathering together; but can be lot more fun with a huge blessing! https://aftersalvation.wixsite.com/grace. Main Menu: A. Fun Easy Handouts (in Pink)... Happy (Hop to it) Frog B. Our Witness (in red) then Answers to Tough Questions C. You Tube: Search - “Todd White | First Time Stepping Out” |
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The Mystery of Tongues: Putting Your Mind to Rest |
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xxxA heavy dose of practicality may be needed to make sense of this gift. Its meaning and purpose are usually a mystery; its doctrine appears varied; it's something I rejected for 30 years. Welcome to the gift of tongues and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. xxxThe Bible admits it can look like men “drunk with wine” Acts 2:13. Why should a Christian need to speak in tongues? Sometimes it's easier to simplify. Jesus listens to our needs and desires. He is not only our Lord but we are called His friends John 15:15. Do you think at times He may wish to speak? Do you think this may be on a higher level than we need to understand? Romans 8:26 “... For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”. God utters “mysteries in the Spirit” because “one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God” 1 Corinthians 14:2. xxxOur mind wants complete control all the time, but “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” 1 Corinthians 2:11. Rejecting the gift of tongues as outdated or gibberish is also rejecting a form of prayer and a provision from God. xxxToday (as in Paul's day) this gift was misused as an emotional free for all. There are many aspects of tongues such as interpretation, sincere prayer, and God's spirit bearing witness with our spirit Romans 8:16, but none are chaotic. xxxMore important is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit has a direct relationship to tongues. It is a separate baptism John and Jesus commanded us to have see link A below. Many people in the Bible had received the baptism for forgiveness of sins (saved) but received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit later Acts 19:2-6. xxxJesus was even anointed by the Holy Spirit “with power” Acts 10:38 descending as a dove Mathew 3:16 while with John. xxxPersonally, when I rejected tongues it was if I rejected all Gods gifts. Christians who have this gift agree it is their greatest asset to their walk (they either have it or they don't). Jesus confirmed it Mark 16:17 and Paul said do not forbid speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:39! To see how to speak in tongues and more info see link A below. A detailed view of how this ties into scripture see link B and C below. God Bless! Your friend, Bob https://aftersalvation.wixsite.com/grace. Main menu: A. Our walk (in yellow) then the Baptism of the Holy Spirit B. You Tube: Search – Robert Morris | The Best Teaching On Speaking In Tongues I Have Ever Heard C. You Tube: Search - Robert Morris | Receiving the Holy Spirit References: For Free: Fun and easy handouts to share your faith, coloring books and more. Plus tools to walk in your faith and witness easily with yout phone. Visit https://aftersalvation.wixsite.com/grace. *this article, “Overcoming Life's Problems” can be viewed from the website above under “Our Walk” or printed from the download button on the homepage. |