Christ Relieves My Inadequacy
"For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it" Romans 3:20
We can be overwhelmed with our own in adequacy and in a state of constant frustrations, or we can call on Jesus to fulfill for us what his righteous law demands...
Love fulfills what the law demands, and we forever benefit.
God Exacts Vengeance, So I Need Not Seek Revenge
1 Peter 2:23
The most innocent man who ever lived suffered the most outrageous injustice ever inflicted, and yet he refused to carry the burden of revenge, turning it over to God because he knew God would settle it in a just way.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
One Year Book of Hope. week 16 God's Name
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will Provide
At the lowest moment in his life, Abraham listened for God and looked up to see God at work.
Jehovah M'Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies
God does want you to be happy, but he knows that your greatest happiness is found as you pursue holiness. He wants to BE your happiness, and he wants you to be holy....
"May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this" 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord My Peace
Peace is not a feeling or a possession but a person. Jesus will invade your hopelessness and distress and reveal himself as Peace.
At the lowest moment in his life, Abraham listened for God and looked up to see God at work.
Jehovah M'Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies
God does want you to be happy, but he knows that your greatest happiness is found as you pursue holiness. He wants to BE your happiness, and he wants you to be holy....
"May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this" 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord My Peace
Peace is not a feeling or a possession but a person. Jesus will invade your hopelessness and distress and reveal himself as Peace.
One Year Book of Hope. week 15 Knowing God
God Is Just
Should not the judge of all the earth do what is right? Genesis 18:25
Justice is the righteous way God governs every part of the universe....
We can be confident that when destiny-defining decisions are made, the Judge of all the earth will do what is right.
God is Holy
If we are going to grow up in God, it is time we learn that God's passion for his holiness is the supreme force and focus in the universe.....
When we allow ourselves to be consumed by a passion for God's holiness, other passions lose their power over us. Struggles with sexual temptation lose their allure; deep-rooted bitterness, paralyzing fear, and insignificant obsessions case to be the focus of our energy. See him for who he is-altogether holy-and usher him to the throne of your life.
One Year Book of Hope. week 14 The Presence of God
p.105 God's very presence is his greatest gift to us. And yet I think it is a gift that most of us have never fully unwrapped.
Walking with God P. 107
There's a big difference between walking with God and merely living.
Walking with God P. 107
There's a big difference between walking with God and merely living.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
One Year Book of Hope Week 13. Healer of My Soul
Jesus, Our Compassionate Healer
The Lord Who Heals
Healing is not an activity God may choose to do or choose not to do. Healing is who he is; it is his very nature, reflected in his name.
Some use Scripture to say that God has promised to heal your body if you pray a certain way or with a certain person. But God has not promised you a long life in this body on this earth. he has promised you a perfect body in a perfect place for an eternity. Would you be willing to stop holding on to this life with such vigor so you can open your hands and heart to welcome the ultimate healing God has promised you?
What Are Your Miracles All About?
If we want to understand the nature and purpose of the miracles Jesus performed, we have to hear Jesus'implied message: "I am the one you've been waiting for. I am the one who was promised long ago. I AM."
If it Be your Will
It was hard for us that some people saw our reluctance to pray in this way as a lack of faith. But it had nothing to do with whether or not God had the power to heal Hope. We firmly believe that God can do anything. For us, it was more a matter of asking ourselves if this was the way we have seen God work. And more important, was it what he had planned for Hope? Did God have in mind for her a short but meaningful life, and would we be open to that as his best>?
Often I see the body of Christ put so much into pursuing God for physical healing. With great boldness and passion and persistence, we cry out to God, begging for healing of the body. And in these prayers, there is often a tiny P.S. added at the end where we say, 'If it be your will." But shouldn't we switch that around? Shouldn't we cry out to God with boldness and passion and persistence in a prayer that says, "God, would you please accomplish Your will? Would you give me a willing heart to embrace YOUR plan and YOUR purpose? Would you mold me into an instrument that you can use to accomplish what you have in mind? And then, perhaps, we could add a tiny P.S. that says, "If that includes healing, we will be grateful."
The Lord Who Heals
Healing is not an activity God may choose to do or choose not to do. Healing is who he is; it is his very nature, reflected in his name.
Some use Scripture to say that God has promised to heal your body if you pray a certain way or with a certain person. But God has not promised you a long life in this body on this earth. he has promised you a perfect body in a perfect place for an eternity. Would you be willing to stop holding on to this life with such vigor so you can open your hands and heart to welcome the ultimate healing God has promised you?
What Are Your Miracles All About?
If we want to understand the nature and purpose of the miracles Jesus performed, we have to hear Jesus'implied message: "I am the one you've been waiting for. I am the one who was promised long ago. I AM."
If it Be your Will
It was hard for us that some people saw our reluctance to pray in this way as a lack of faith. But it had nothing to do with whether or not God had the power to heal Hope. We firmly believe that God can do anything. For us, it was more a matter of asking ourselves if this was the way we have seen God work. And more important, was it what he had planned for Hope? Did God have in mind for her a short but meaningful life, and would we be open to that as his best>?
Often I see the body of Christ put so much into pursuing God for physical healing. With great boldness and passion and persistence, we cry out to God, begging for healing of the body. And in these prayers, there is often a tiny P.S. added at the end where we say, 'If it be your will." But shouldn't we switch that around? Shouldn't we cry out to God with boldness and passion and persistence in a prayer that says, "God, would you please accomplish Your will? Would you give me a willing heart to embrace YOUR plan and YOUR purpose? Would you mold me into an instrument that you can use to accomplish what you have in mind? And then, perhaps, we could add a tiny P.S. that says, "If that includes healing, we will be grateful."
One year Book of Hope week 11 Protected By God
Keep You From Stumbling p.84
If you are in Christ, you are as likely to stumble and fall away as Christ is.
Protection From Your Enemies
In our self-centered worlds, we are much more concerned about having god on our side to protect our own interests and reputation than we are about being on God's side, seeking after his glory and ultimate victory.
If you are in Christ, you are as likely to stumble and fall away as Christ is.
Protection From Your Enemies
In our self-centered worlds, we are much more concerned about having god on our side to protect our own interests and reputation than we are about being on God's side, seeking after his glory and ultimate victory.
One Year Book of Hope Week 10. Sovereignty of God
Though God's sovereignty can be hard to accept, it is also a soft place to land. Without confidence in God's sovereign oversight of the universe, life becomes meaningless, hope for justice faces, and everything seems random. The truth is, if God is not sovereign, we're in trouble. The sovereignty of God is a rock underfoot when the winds blow in our lives. It confronts what seems absurd in our existence. God's sovereignty is our greatest hope as we face an uncertain and unknown future.
The One year Book of Hope. Week 9 The Love of God
While some chapters will be more difficult than others, visible in every scene, on every page, is the love of God.
Nothing Can Separate Us From Christ's Love p.67
What does it feel like to be loved by God? It is not a sentimental feeling. Nor is it circumstantial. Being loved by God is the deep certainty that the God of the universe is not opposed to me, though I deserve it; he is for me! it is an inner confidence in his loving intentions that gives us the security and strength we need for enduring the difficulties of this life.
Focus on his loving provision for your eternal future, nurturing your confidence to say with Paul, For I AM CONVINCED that neither....etc.
Lord, The One You Love is Very Sick p. 70
Our suffering become the soil in which our doubts about God's love begin to grow.
Lord, I want to see everything in my life through the lens of your love in quiet confidence that you are working everything for my good and your glory.
One Year Book of Hope. Week 7 LIFE
Acts 17:28
Every life is valuable because God himself gives life and breath to everything. He is not only the source of life; he is also the source of satisfaction and meaning in life. "In him we live and move and exist."
Losing Your Life p. 52
Jesus calls us to abandon our own agendas, what we have deemed will please and fulfill us, so that we can embrace the kind and quality of life that only He gives. this is not about adding Jesus to the life we are living. This is about making Jesus our life. This is about putting our plans for our lives to death so that the abundant life he offers has room to take root and grow. And death is always painful. This is not an extreme brand of discipleship only for go-getters. This is the call for everyone who chooses to be a follower of Jesus. The problem is, we don't really believe that God's plan for our lives could be better than the one we've planned. it takes a step of faith to believe God will supply satisfying life now and when we die.
Every life is valuable because God himself gives life and breath to everything. He is not only the source of life; he is also the source of satisfaction and meaning in life. "In him we live and move and exist."
Losing Your Life p. 52
Jesus calls us to abandon our own agendas, what we have deemed will please and fulfill us, so that we can embrace the kind and quality of life that only He gives. this is not about adding Jesus to the life we are living. This is about making Jesus our life. This is about putting our plans for our lives to death so that the abundant life he offers has room to take root and grow. And death is always painful. This is not an extreme brand of discipleship only for go-getters. This is the call for everyone who chooses to be a follower of Jesus. The problem is, we don't really believe that God's plan for our lives could be better than the one we've planned. it takes a step of faith to believe God will supply satisfying life now and when we die.
One Year Book of Hope. Week 6
Why?
Living in A Broken World p. 43
Romans 8:20-21
Against it's will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Suffering As Satan's Tool p.44
That is certainly what satan wants to do with the tool of suffering in your life. He wants to hammer away at your thoughts of the goodness of God and replace them with dark thoughts about God. he wants to chisel away at your confidence in the character of God and cause you to question his authority in your life.
Living in A Broken World p. 43
Romans 8:20-21
Against it's will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Suffering As Satan's Tool p.44
That is certainly what satan wants to do with the tool of suffering in your life. He wants to hammer away at your thoughts of the goodness of God and replace them with dark thoughts about God. he wants to chisel away at your confidence in the character of God and cause you to question his authority in your life.
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