Archive for July, 2018

VerseD: 1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
1 Peter 3:12, ESV

What you do matters.

What you think matters.

If you are consistently thinking impure and evil thoughts, if you are doing what you know God does not approve of, do not expect Him to answer your prayers nor rescue you from challenges.

Odds are, you created those challenges.

VerseD: Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32, ESV

As Chrisitians, we have been failing to be kind to each other.

Denominations are not the problem. Sects are not the problem.

We are the problem.

Forgive and be kind, as Christ did for us.

VaerseD: 2 Timothy 1:9

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began
2 Timothy 1:9, ESV

All Christians have the same calling: reconciliation with a fallen world through the making of disciples of Christ.

The Dangers of Transgenderism

Here are some good points in the current transgender debate.
~Daniel

A Bit Of Orange's avatarA Bit of Orange

Transgenderism is when a man decides he is a woman, or when a woman decides she is a man. Today the kids on college campuses and all around the old internet are being taught that sex and gender are NOT the same thing- that SEX is biological, but GENDER is societal or personal or something like that. It’s actually REALLY difficult to get anyone to give a clear answer about these things.

And if it was just the acknowledgement that sometimes you feel like a man and some days you don’t, and some days you lay on the couch crying and watching the Notebook while eating strawberry cheesecake ice cream right from the carton trying not to even THINK of the cultural expectations for men back when your grandfather was your age because you know you would NEVER be able to meet them…

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VerseD: John 15:7

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:7, ESV

Jesus is not promising a “Name-It-and-Claim-It” kind of wishful thinking.

Jesus is following through on what many other parts of the Bible, including His own words, promise: When your character is becoming so in tune with His and you are living by the Holy Spirit, then you will ask for things according to His will.

And then your requests will be given.

VerseD: 1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9, ESV

God chose us.

His main calling for us?

Matthew 28:18-20. (Look it up!)

VerseD: John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5, ESV

We can try doing all sorts of things for God, but if we are not first found in Christ it will all be useless.

VerseD: Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1‭-‬2, ESV

We tend to get too focused on what others do to us or do not do for us.

Instead, we should be more concerned with how we can serve others.

Sacrificially.

VerseD: 1 John 4:11-12

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:11‭-‬12, ESV

One of the signs you are a saved Christian is a love for the Church. Just as Jesus was rejected by His own people, we may deal with rude, obnoxious people, or even those who are mean and reject us.

But we still love them.

VerseD: 2 Timothy 1:7

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

In Christ we are overcomers of fear, weakness, and hatred. In Him we have power over the enemy, hatred, and our faults. We’d have His love flowing through us. We learn to control ourselves in all things.