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"For I know the plans I have for you,"declares the LORD,"plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah
29:11
May the Lord's greatest blessing be on each and every one of you in
the family of Christ. Keep your focus on the great love our Lord
has shown to us and make it your goal to return that love to the best of
your ability.
The first issue that needs to be address is the matter of our faith. Don't
be deceived by those who claim that we should believe without a reason. In
fact, we are instructed to always be prepared to give a reason for the hope
that lies within us. When Jesus talked to his disciples concerning little
children, he was clearly referring to their humility. When a little child
needs something, he must be humble and accept what he is given in order to
live. So it is with the Christian life. We are to humble ourselves and accept
our gift of salvation in order to live. We should also humble ourselves in
the service of others. It is very important that you have clear,
pronounced reasons for your faith. Without a reason, your relationship with
God can still be there, but your ministry and service to Him is lacking.
So have Faith in Him with a reason and have Faith that your prayers will
be answered based on the promises He gave to us. |
| Try to give praise to God in everything you do. Pour messages and meaning
even into the little things you say and do in life. This is something we
can all work at. On this site, there are messages and meaning behind almost
everything in order to remind you of Christ and His love for us. The silver
and gold should remind us that we are being refined to the image of Christ.
The flames represent our God, the consuming fire that burns within
us. The empty cross serves as a reminder that He died for
us and conquered death. The blue and red are are the blood and water that
flowed when he was pierced on the cross. Even the white background is there
to serve as a reminder that we are washed white as snow because of His sacrifice.
Please do not let your Christianity and your life be separated. Love
Him, and seek His face. |
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| It is good to put yourselves around people who share the faith.
Just as steel sharpens steel, you will sharpen each other. Don't be
afraid to lovingly correct one another with the scriptures when you see the
other doing wrong or teaching wrong. Confess your sins and be accountable
to one another so that you can pray for each other and be healed. |
| Study the scriptures so that you aren't deceived by teachers
who distort them. The Bible has one Author, though there are many authors,
and one Message, though there are many teachings. That one author is
God, and his message is our Redemption. The men He used were but tools
to communicate His message to us. The teachings declare His holiness, and
our imperfections; our need for redemption, and His forgiveness; His love
for us, and how we can show our love to Him in return.
If you have given your life to Christ and haven't been baptized, you probably
have a yearning in your heart to do so. Baptism is not going to save
you from your sins or keep you from your salvation, but it is a show to the
world that you are a member of the body of Christ. Anyone who has Christ
in his heart has a desire to show the world that they are His. |
| Jesus, when he was asked about the greatest commandment
in the law, gave this reply. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind'. And the second is like it:
'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these
two commandments." Our God has given us every reason to love Him and to love
the people we encounter in order to bring glory to Him. |
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| Strive to give the Lord your best in everything you do. Give
to Him first, and then take care of yourself. He has proven His love
for us beyond a doubt and deserves nothing less than our best. He is
good and will see to it that all of our needs are provided for.
Be careful what you say or your tongue will take you places you don't want
to go. It is very important to make sure you are speaking the truth
so that the Gospel message will be accepted from your lips by those who listen
to you. If you don't know about something, don't make something up just
to sound smart. A war can be won by retreating from some battles. |
| Young men, treat women the way you would want your own sister,
cousin, or niece to be treated by another man. Have a pure heart and keep
your focus on Christ.
When you are at your job, work as if you are working for the Lord. Put
your whole heart into the task at hand, using your resources to the best
of your ability. Do quality work so that your boss will be praised for
the work produced by his company and you may bring Glory to God in the process.
We as Christians should only have one debt in our lives, and that is the
debt of love to Christ. Learn to be content in every situation. If you
can afford to live in a big house and buy expensive cars, you can do
that. It's the money God has given to you and you can spend it as you choose
for the Glory of His kingdom. Those of us with more meager wages should first
learn to be content with what we have. We need to learn to wait just
a little longer before we buy things we don't really need. Keeping
out of debt will help to free our lives of extra bills and unnecessary
interest. It will also allow us to truly give to the Lord out of our
own pocket instead of essentially using another person's money to do so.
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| Money is perhaps the world's greatest litmus test for love, and it is
usually much easier for a man with ten dollars to give half his money to
God than a man with ten million - although it shouldn't be that way. So
why is the man with the ten dollars the more apt of the two to give half
his wages? He knows that he may walk down the road and stumble
on another five dollars, but the chances of the rich man stumbling on another
five million is doubtful at best. If the focus was instead placed on what
he already has, the man with ten million should easily be able to give more
in comparison for the Glory of the Kingdom of God.
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So What Do You Think?
Because many argue that a person is a person from conception,
Would you agree on embrionic stem cell research if the scientists
searching for cures would set a tentative date of discovery? In the event
that the cure is not found within a month after said date, it would result in
the participants losing their own lives by the same method induced on the
majority of lives previously taken for their research.
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