orchestra

Everyone Gets To Play

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If we ask ourselves the question “what does scripture say should happen when believers gather together” (i.e. the weekly service) we might be surprised. One thing that dominates the various passages (Rom. 12:6-10; I Cor. 11:17-24;I Cor. 14:26-33; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 5:19-21; Col. 3:16; Heb. 10:24-25; James 5:14-16) is that there should be the mutual exercise of gifts to edify one another. This may not seem radical at first but it is. How many Sunday services have you been to where many different people exercise gifts to edify others in a mutual way? Usually the preacher does nearly all the ministry. The worship time is a time when people other than the pastor exercise their gifts. But where are the different people exercising the various gifts in Romans 12 (e.g., exhorting, teaching, leading, mercy, service, prophecy)? Where are all the different contributors mentioned in I Cor. 14? In Eph. 5:19 Continue Reading →

patience patient

Accepting The Faults Of Others

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We should be patient with the faults of others as well as our own faults. We can pray that God will give us strength to be patient and kind. We can remind ourselves that others have to bear with our faults. We can remember that we usually cannot correct our own faults without great effort; why should we be impatient with the habitual faults of others? Besides, human faults are an opportunity for us to allow our character to be refined. If it is our place to say something about someone’s fault, and we have mentioned it more than once then we should not nag someone so that we get into a dispute over it. We can just fulfill our proper role without becoming angry or aggressive. We should not take the situation out of God’s hands and into our own, but rather seek to honor God with our meekness Continue Reading →

No Condemnation In Our Lives Any More – Weekly Word Of Encouragement

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“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1 (ESV) Before Jesus we were judged according to the law of sin. This law meant that because we sinned we had to be declared guilty of sinning – no lawyer could win an argument against that. And since we were guilty there had to be a sentence, a punishment of condemnation. The punishment was spiritual death and separation from God; this was our condemnation. We were condemned to death by our sins. But when we accepted Jesus and his death for our sins then the law of sin was defeated. This was because Jesus took the punishment for our sins. So now there is no punishment of death for our sins. So now there is a great divide between guilt and condemnation. We may be “guilty” of a sin but there is no condemnation of death Continue Reading →

help

What Is Our Motive For Serving?

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Serving requires sacrifices. Sometimes we have to postpone something good we want to do in order to help someone in need. But we should remember that we are doing something better than the work we left behind. But even so, good deeds done with the wrong attitude profit us nothing. A small deed done with love profits us more than a great deed done without love. And if all we can do is small deeds, God highly values that, for he takes into account what we are able to do more than how great the deed is. If you love much you will do much. And if you are unselfish then you will accomplish much. Service and ministry should be for the benefit of others, not ourselves. Often service or ministry is motivated by desire for personal gain or glory, powered by our own will, and dependant on our own Continue Reading →

temptation

Resisting Temptation II – Imitation of Christ Chapter 13, Part Two

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This is the second of two posts on resisting temptation; the first one can be found here. All temptations stem from our unstable passions and from lack of trust in God. When we do not stick to our convictions we are like a ship without a rudder tossed around by a storm. Instead, temptations should refine us like a fire refines gold. Temptations should be resisted as soon as they knock on our door. We must not let them into the home of our heart, but rather go outside door and prevent them from entering at all. Once they enter they start to grow. A poet has said: In the beginning You might have won It’s past your skill now No more can be done Temptation progresses from a suggestion and moves into our imagination. Then we have thoughts of its pleasure and then it captures our desire. Finally, we Continue Reading →