Month: October 2017

Weekly words of encouragement

Whatever We Ask We Receive – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” I Jn 3:22 (ESV). This promise appears in the middle of a discussion about loving one another, which John says is the main commandment. So the promise and encouragement in this verse is that our commitment to actually loving others and to pleasing God leads to answered prayer. God blesses those who follow him in Christ by giving the good things they ask for. We know that sometimes devout Christians don’t receive what they pray for; John partly explains this later in Jn. 5:14 where he says that we should pray according to God’s will. But when an obedient Christians prays for what God promises they can be confident that God will say yes. Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted – Weekly Words Of EncouragementNovember 18, 2024Have Mercy – Weekly Words Of EncouragementNovember Continue Reading →

holy spirit

10 Temptations of Spiritual Renewals In Your Life – Part 1

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The Holy Spirit has brought many renewals to individuals and to his church over the centuries, bringing needed refreshment and invigoration to the people of God. Usually there is a strong sense of his presence and believers find themselves experiencing God in ways they never had before. This continues today. If we want to preserve the benefits God gives in renewal we will be wise to watch out for common temptations and faults that often accompany renewals, whether it is individual renewal or community renewal. Here are 10 temptations of renewal we need to watch out for today: A spiritual sweet tooth. This means putting a high priority on sweet spiritual feelings or blessings. This becomes a huge distraction from God’s work in renewal. He definitely wants to give good spiritual feelings but the problem is that we become attached to and focused on them. We seek God’s hand instead Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

The Promise Of Christformation – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” I Jn 3:2b (NIV) This is one of the greatest promises in Scripture. We want complete inner peace as well as perfect harmony with others. Most of all we want to experience the rapture of being in complete unity with God. We know we can’t have these things now but this verse promises all these things for us. We can say this because the barrier to all these blessings is our complete transformation into the image of Christ. Once we become fully like Christ we will have all these blessings and more. As we focus our hearts on this daily we receive power to throw aside everything in our lives that interferes with Christformation! Exercise: Put your name in the verse and repeat three times.   Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted – Weekly Words Continue Reading →

anxiety

Anxiety vs. Focus On The Kingdom – Matthew 6:33-34

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In 1985 19% of college freshman reported being overwhelmed by all they had to do; in 2016 it was 41%! Anxiety has become a huge social-psychological issue. A New York Times article quotes that “Anxiety is the most common mental-health disorder in the United States, affecting over one third of both adolescents and adults.” Mental health providers report that for youth anxiety is often linked to fear of failure, perfectionism, comparisons to others (often through social media), or difficult neighborhood environments. We all feel anxiety some of the time and some of us feel it much of the time. Anxiety is an issue in every place and time. But the Kingdom of God that Jesus announced was a place where one could become free of anxiety. In his compassion he taught us how to do this. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus talks about the anxiety of having enough food and clothing. Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Holding On To The Eternal – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” I Jn 2:17 (NIV) Worldliness is always a temptation and it comes in many forms. In one sense we can say that anytime we make something in the world one of our highest priorities then we are being worldly. And it certainly takes inspired willpower to resist the temptation to join with others in their worldliness. We are tempted to avoid the pain of being devalued by others. But the promise of God is that all worldliness will pass away so we can resist it knowing that it will be gone with the wind. Instead, we focus on doing God’s good will because this leads to eternal happiness. Moreover, as others see that our hearts are set on something better God will use our witness to draw others to Jesus and his love. Blessed Continue Reading →