2010-05-26 - Desire's Journey - Faith as Desire First two servant doubled their investment and were rewarded When we bury our desires, we saying to God = 'I don't dare desire because I fear you; I think you are hard-hearted" Is our obedience more out of love or out of carefulness? Persistent widow - won he case because she refused to let up When Jesus returns, will he find faith? - Luke 18 To live with desire means:
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2010-07-04 - Desire's Journey - The Grand Affair (part 1) To know and to be known. It is our deepest ache. Love makes us to crazy things for love. No union on earth like the consummation of love between a man and woman Becoming one - this is what God is seeking with us Bible is the greatest romance ever written |
2010-07-21 - Desire's Journey - Deeper Desire (part 8) Losing all sensitivity - the dullness that most people accept as normal - Ephesians 4:17-19 A deadened soul requires a greater and greater level of stimulation to arouse it This is known as the downward spiral of any addiction TV today would be consider shocking thirty years ago This is why holiness is not numbness - it is sensitivity God wants to be our perfect lover but instead we seek perfection in human relationships and are disappointed when our lovers cannot love us perfectly The Law (Music sheet, if you will) is our help for guiding us Our instrument is out of tune from years of misuse We're not clear all the time on what it is we really want |
2010-08-18 - Waking Dead - Point of all Living Everything you love is what makes a life worth living Action: Set down the book and make a list of all the things you love
Jesus was asked what was most important He boiled it down to loving God and loving others - everything else will fall into place The heart is the connecting point; can not love without it If we can truly love, be loved, and never lose love - we would be finally truly happy If we worship efficiency, we can not grow in our love Some try to master all sort of principles and and never know God intimately, heart to heart. If do all sorts of Christian things without knowing God, he will say "I never knew you" - Matthew 7:22-23 The point is not the activity but intimacy with God Taking a course on anatomy won't help you love you spouse Taking a religion class will not help you love God You will find God when you seek him with all of your heart - Jeremiah 29:13 |
2010-09-03 - Waking Dead - Help of Others We are usually too close to our lives to see what is going on Because it is our story , we don't know what is true and false In every great story, the hero or heroine must turn to someone older and wiser to answer a riddle
Sometimes in our discipling we just fix what is wrong (sin) and not work on the glory of God Need to also me focused on moving forward and to go out on faith |
2010-09-11 - Waking Dead - Spiritual Warfare (part 3) Satan is the Father of Lies - John 8:44 His first attack on the human race was to lie to Adam and Eve He lied about God and where life was found He hoping we buy into whatever he is saying The evil one is still lying to us and is seeking our agreement every day Try to hold on to this and see much accusation you live under Your heart is good Your heart matters to God We must make no agreement with him Most of the time we don't recognize the attack because we do not live as though we are at war We assume these impressions are our own Any movement toward freedom, life, God, or others will be opposed Marriage, friendship, beauty, rest - the thief wants it all |
2010-10-08 - Contagious Christian - Attractiveness of Authenticity (part 2) Authentic Emotional life Expressing sadness or hurt or grief are not signs of low faith or shallow character There are two negative consequences when a person outlaws certain feelings
Remember what Jesus did when His friend Lazarus died? He wept Authentic Confession How Christian deal with their foul-ups and failures The thinking here is that our moral missteps will drive people away But actually, It is a powerful witness to the transforming power of Christ Zacchaeus' household was converted because he was very open with what he did wrong Today authentic confession cause a seeker in today's non-fault society to realize that only the living God would prompt a person to say "it is my fault and I am sorry" |
2010-10-09 - Contagious Christian - Attractiveness of Authenticity (part 3) Living by Genuine Conviction There is something about someone who stands up for what they believe in People take notice
Seekers are not impressed with spinelessness Seekers are trying to make up their own minds about what to do with the claims of Christ When a believer speaks up, they are forces to deal with the implication for their lives A Roman centurion watched as Jesus
The soldier's heart was eventually moved and said - "Surely this man was the Son of God!" Nothing short of Jesus' laying down his life would have brought this cynical soldier to his knees |
2010-10-26 - Contagious Christian - Strength of Sacrifice (part I) Sacrifices move people and are rarely forgotten Three major ways of sacrifice Time It is a rare commodity that we never have enough of Jesus was busy but stopped for the important things Zacchaeus tried to the get Jesus' attention Jesus stopped the procession to go talked with Zacchaeus With disbelief that Jesus would do such a thing, he experienced a rebirth because his repentant heart and Jesus making time His attention on him altered Zacchaeus' life forever People out there are seeking someone who is willing to take the time and effort required to help them come to an understanding of the truth Most of us grossly underestimate the effect we could have on people's eternities if we would just take the time The sacrifice of time combined with the clear communication of the truth can result in salvation |
2010-10-30 - Contagious Christian - Barriers to Relationships (part I) Biblical Issues with understanding what friendships are in the Bible can be barriers to relationships Some feel that befriending people who are irreligious is questionable and maybe unbiblical A look at a few examples of some verses misunderstood James 4:4 - says not to be friends with the world 1 John 2:15-17 - world is referring to sin and evil that people commit, not to the people themselves We need to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world John 17:14 - we are not of this world is sometimes interpreted that we should not associate with people outside of God's family My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one - John 17:15-18 Jesus' purpose was to seek and save what is lost, he had to have relationships in the world to accomplish this - Luke 19:10 2 Corinthians 6:17 - Come out from them and be separate; avoid being yoked with unbelievers Not referring to everyday friendships but more formal alliances Paul in an earlier letter said that ordinary interactions with non-Christians is right and necessary - 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners - Luke 7:34 |
2010-11-05 - Contagious Christian - The Paul Approach Paul certainly confronted people but his main approach was logical and reasonable presentation of the gospel Romans - best example of how Paul lays out a sound explanation of the central truths about God nature, sin, and Christ's solution Paul was a highly educated man and learned under one of the finest teachers of the time Was there a better person to philosophers in Athens in Acts 17? His presentation took them from their unknown God all the way to the one true living God Philosophers would have related to Peter's direct approach No "you will just have to accept it on faith" = "Leap before you look. Are you lucky?" Who in your life enjoys working with ideas and evidence? Many seekers need to hear the gospel not only declared but also defined and defended |
2010-11-10 - Contagious Christian - Dorcas' Service Approach Dorcas was "always doing good and helping the poor" - Acts 9:36 She well-known for her loving acts of service She made robes and articles of clothing for widows and other needy people in her town It was very difficult to see her activity without seeing the love of Christ that inspired Her work was so important that when she died a premature death, God sent Peter to raise her from the dead People who take on this approach find it relatively easy to servers others Often those who are quite and enjoy expressing compassion through action No one fits perfectly into just one approach and you probably use all of them one way or another God has designed diversity on His team and each member is stronger in some styles than others A team of Christians who are made up of different styles will strong because they can reach virtually every type of seeker |
2010-11-20 - Contagious Christian - Breaking Barriers to Belief (part I) We have got to help people understand that God is not angry or afraid of honest doubt He warmly invites those with sincere questions to come, to seek, to knock - Matthew 7:7 How different Jesus is from the religious leaders of the world Jesus told doubting Thomas to touch him - Luke 24:39 We should expect this to happen and respond by emulating Jesus Clear communication starts with spiritual conversations 1. Poor Examples This includes those who are religious and are prideful or hypocritical Some are narrow-minded and pessimistic have condemned anything they don't happen to like What can be done to remove this barrier?
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2010-11-22 - Mission - Heart of Christ Reading Luke 19:1-9
Jesus' love had a clear and defined purpose - to restore a broken relationship between the lost and God To have the heart of Christ means to seek and to save what is lost It is beyond:
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2010-11-24 - Mission - People Beginning of His ministry - Luke 4
He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with suffering - Isaiah 53:3 He was tempted in every way, just as we are - Hebrews 4:15 Jesus' heart went out to people and it moved him to action Their needs drove Jesus' ministry Our charge is to walk as Jesus walked Luke 10 illustrates Jesus' plan as he send out the 72 disciples He challenged them to rejoice because their names were written in heaven The end challenge was to go and do likewise - Luke 10:37 Cannot be done unless it costs us something Seeking and saving the lost is accomplished by preaching the gospel and helping people |
2010-12-03 - Mission - First the Kingdom No one is ready to follow Jesus who is not ready to put the kingdom of God first above everything else in his life Take away the radicalness of the message and you take away the power of the message Compromise it and you have religion but not the church of Jesus Christ Every kingdom has a king God is the king of kings and the lord of lords - 2 Timothy 6:15 Jesus is known as both Lord and Christ, King and Savior - Acts 2:38 We are the servants, subjects, and even slaves of God - Romans 6:22 The centurion understood this authority - Luke 7:8 You will be given all the things you need when you seek first the kingdom - Matthew 6:33 Can you powerfully proclaim this message to others because it is so clearly your conviction? - Colossians 3:1-2 When making decisions, ask what is best for the kingdom. |
2010-12-11 - Seeking God (part I) What are you looking for in life? Acts 17:16-28
Jeremiah 29:11-14
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2010-12-12 - Seeking God (part II) Examples of those seeking God: Ethiopian eunuch - Acts 8:26-40
Bereans - Acts 17:10-12
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2010-12-13 - Seeking God (part III) John 1:18
John 20:30-31
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2010-12-18 - Word of God (part III) Acts 17:10-12
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2010-12-23 - Cross of Christ (part I) Romans 3:22-26, 5:6-8
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2011-01-13 - Followup - Being Discipled: Initiation (part I) Must desire to be discipled - No one will make you. Example: Going to the doctor - no one can make you, but you desire to get better Do you want to become like Jesus?
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2011-02-23 - The Church - Kansas City (part III) 1 Corinthians 12:21-26
Proverbs 15:22
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2011-02-24 - The Church - Kansas City (part IV) Correction in the Body Matthew 18:15-18
Matthew 13:44-46
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2011-03-25 - God Is (part VI) Nearing the end of the God study. Has been a good week:
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2011-03-28 - Old Testament - Seeking God Old Testament Seeking God study
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2011-05-20 - Righteousness instead of worry and pride Righteousness instead of worry Matthew 6:25-34
Matthew 5:17-20
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2011-06-09 - Mind of Christ - Intro (part II) Man’s heart must be reshaped to think and act like God’s (continued)
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2011-06-20 - Mind of Christ - Discipleship (part V) Christ’s encounters with people teach about discipleship Jesus loved God with an unrivaled love
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2011-06-23 - Mind of Christ - Obedience (part III) The motivation for Jesus’ obedience was in his relationship with God He obeyed God because he loved God
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2011-06-26 - Mind of Christ - Helping People (part I) We must gain the mind of Christ in regard to helping people Romans 15:1-3 - We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves His baptism and temptation prepared the way for helping people.
1. He possessed a great desire to work for and please God.
Compassion: Sympathetic conscious of another’s distress, together with desire to alleviate it, pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare. Examples:
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2011-07-05 - Mind of Christ - Relationship with God (part VI) For oneness with the Father, we must be of the same kind of person:
What it does NOT mean:
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2011-07-06 - Mind of Christ - Heavenly Mission (part I) A. Jesus possessed a firm belief that he had been sent by the Father into the world for the specific purpose of bringing the lost to salvation. 1. He believed that he was on a Heavenly mission in His Father’s behalf.
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2011-07-08 - Mind of Christ - Heavenly Mission (part III) Jesus employed at least five elements to accomplish this mission: (continued) 2. He earnestly longed for salvation of sinners.
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2011-07-17 - Mind of Christ - About Self (part III) B. Fruits of self centered life: 1. It causes people to be extremely concerned about their personal rights - Genesis 13:5-7 |
2011-07-19 - Mind of Christ - About Self (part V) Christ’s example of self denial: A. He emptied himself ~ Philippines 2:5-11 B. He inconvenienced himself
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2011-07-20 - Mind of Christ - About Self (part VI) The results of a self emptied life: A. It enables you to seek the good of others above yourself:
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2011-09-26 - Proverbs on Advice - Seek Help Proverbs 15:22 - Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War.
Proverbs 11:14 - For lack of guidance a nation falls but many advisers make victory sure. In the life of a disciple we need eyes all around us (we are in a spiritual battle, not against flesh and blood but against the dark forces of this world).
Five lessons to learn about advice... 1. Seek Advice Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death Proverbs 18:15 - The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, the ears of the wise seek it out If we were going to buy a car for the 1st time, most of us would seek a lot of advice.
If we need help in other areas (that’s good) surely our spiritual life is more important because it has an eternal destination (good or bad)
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2011-09-27 - Proverbs on Advice - Advisors bring victory 2. Advisors bring victory Proverbs 11:14 - For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure Proverbs 25:12 - Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear We all want to succeed; we all want to be winners.
3. Without instruction, bad things happen Proverbs 19:27 - Stop listening to instruction my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge Proverbs 21:16 - A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead Sometimes were just think-headed (we know what’s best)
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2011-09-28 - Proverbs on Advice - Without Instruction 4. Without instruction, you hurt others Proverbs 10:17 - He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray John Donne wrote, “No man is an island entirely to himself, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main” When (in our independence) we disregard godly advice, we hurt others as well as ourselves. We set an example which by action and attitude say that we do not need others in our lives 5. Without instruction we are stupid Proverbs 12:1 - Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid The Bible uses the word “stupid”. It’s found only four times in the NIV (Job 18:3, Proverbs 12:1, Ecclesiastes 10:3, 2 Timothy 2:23)
Challenge: How do you respond when someone challenges you?
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2011-11-02 - Mind Change - Dreams Never lose your dream. If one gets taken away, seek another one. God is not through with you. He still has plans. When he closes one door, he opens another. Acts 16:10 - A door opened in Macedonia for Paul |
2011-11-22 - Getting Advise (part II) Advise will bring about only what is good
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2011-12-21 - Day 18 - Learning from Others Matthew 18:1-4
Psalms 32:8-10 - How can you not be like a horse or mule? Application: If you have resisted learning from younger disciples, repent today and seek them out to ask questions. If you are young yourself, set the believers a great example |
2012-01-08 - Day 36 - A Hope and a Future Do you worry about your future? What are your hopes and what are your fears? Jeremiah 29:11-13
Psalms 16:5-8 - Do you feel this way about your life? Why? 1 Timothy 6:6-10
Application: If you see anxiety or discontentment in your life, confess it as a lack of faith, and memorize one of these scriptures to remind yourself of God's faithfulness. |
2012-03-15 - Instilling Faith in Children (part I) Not all the answers but I do know where get them along with advice from others Going to share about 2-3 scriptures for use to discuss / feel free to be part of things We need Jesus - Matthew 18:1-6 v1 - Side conversation while Jesus was doing miracles among them v3 - It does not come naturally, we need to change Why is it so important to become childlike?
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2012-08-03 - Genesis 22 - The Offering of IsaacSummaryGod told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham obeyed, an angel stopped him. The LORD provided a ram instead and blessed Abraham. ObservationsGenesis 22:2 - Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering Personal ApplicationI know for me I give until it starts to physically hurt, brings up bad memories, or I don't see the need to. It does not depend on me; I need to sacrifice in relation to the need. As I grow close to go God I will see God's heart in this. |
2012-11-01 - Centrality of the Heart (part I) The heart does not respond to principles and programs It does not seek efficiency but passion Jesus so often taught and related to people by telling parables and asking questions Something calls to us through our experiences It awakes a yearning for intimacy, beauty, and adventure It fuels our search for meaning, for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive Our heart of hearts is the passion of our life We can not hear his voice if we have lost touch with our heart The true story of each person is the journey of his or her heart Jesus spoke his strongest warnings about people who had a loss of heart (mostly about the religious people) For many of us, our faith is more lie a series of problem that need to be solved We see a problem and tinker with our outer lives We ask what are we suppose to be doing? - Luke 10:25 Jesus did not respond with a set of instructions |
2013-04-22 - The Sincerity of Jesus (part I) The fundamental virtue of sincerity is what the human heart craves All higher relationships of life have sincerity in its core There are many things we can not be and many things we can not do - but this is one thing is within all of our reach Jesus was incapable of a lie A hypocrite is an actor; the word was orginally taken from the stage The sincerity of Jesus which drove him into deadly conflict with the hypocrites |
2013-07-01 - Becoming a Chain Breaker (part I) Men need to realize how much is at stake We need to ask God to break the chains in our lives and from our past Children are not punished for the sins of their parents, they are definitely affected and negatively influenced by them. You matter the circumstances of your birth, you were not an accident - Acts 17:24-27 Chains present in all of our lives:
God is the ultimate Chain Breaker
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2013-09-06 - Consistency through Consecration Consecration, which means to clean something up and then dedicate it to God. Cleansing your life and home from any stumbling blocks or evil influences and then presenting yourself and your family into God’s hands. If there are influences in your home that dishonor God or are pulling you or your family members away from God, you should seriously consider removing them. King Hezekiah rose to the throne after the death of Ahaz,
There is nothing greater, more fulfilling, or more important than living with this goal in mind. |
2013-10-21 - Resolve to Lead Your Family The greater responsibility to raise your children is yours. When the dad leads, kids are up to twenty times more likely to stay in church long-term than when moms are the spiritual leaders at home
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2014-03-18 - Teach Them to Fear the Lord (part II) The fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil - Proverbs 16:6 How one may avoid the snares of death - Proverbs 14:2 Fear of the Lord causes our other fears to go away
How blessed is the man who fears the LORD - Psalms 112:1-2 Prayerfully ask God to help us develop a strong fear of the Lord Training them to fear the Lord sets them up to live with incredible wisdom and success:
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2015-01-08 - Genesis 25 - Death of Abraham (part I)SummaryAbraham died and was buried with Sarah ObservationsGenesis 25:7 - lived a long and satisfying life |
2015-05-03 - Importance of Insight Tell this man the meaning of his vision - Daniel 8:16 God gave Daniel a vision concerning future events Daniel realized the vision without a satisfying interpretation would do him no good An angel appeared to him to explain it because of his genuine desire for insight into the vision Knowledge of God's Word is good but having the practical understanding to apply it is life changing God promises to give understanding to anyone who earnestly seeks it How often do you seek out the scriptures on how to be a godly man, husband, father, employee? |
2015-06-19 - Courage to Reconcile If I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me - Genesis 33:10-11 We struggle to reconcile with someone who hurt us:
For many years Jacob struggled to see his brother, Esau, again He knew Esua would be angry with him for taking his birthright away Esau ran to Jacob and embraced him and forgave him Their brotherhood enabled them to reunite peacefully and lovingly in the end IS there an estranged friend or family member with whom you need to seek reconciliation? |
2015-08-16 - Unintended Consequences Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah; it became a trap for Gideon and his family - Judges 8:27 Sometimes our best-intended actions have negative consequences Gideon had just led Israel in a rousing victory over Midian and they elected him ruler He said thanks, but no thanks - he knew not to take an office that had not appointed him to Gideon asked everyone to gather up the gold colleced from the Midianite enemies so that he could make an ephod to server as a memorial to God's goodness for defeat the Midianites Instead of remembering God, the Israelites began to worship it instead Gideon provided leadership during the time of war but failed to offer it at a time when the people needed spiritual guidance When you set out to do something you see as important, seek God and his approval before moving forward
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2015-09-11 - Face the Music I am sending him back to you and with him comes my own heart - Philemon 1:12 Onesimus had dessert his master, Philemon, and headed home to find anonymity While there, he met Paul, who probably brought him to faith in Christ Now Onesimus made a tough decision: return back to his master despite his fears It would have been easier to stay in Rome but he knew that God wanted him to return to Philemon and make amends for his actions God always honors you when you go out of your way to seek another's forgiveness |
2015-11-24 - God's Approval May the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful - Psalms 90:1 The formula for failure is trying to please everyone Lasting blessing comes when you make pleasing God and seeking his approval your focus In Psalms 90, Moses wrote while in the wilderness, plainly about the consequences of their stubbornness and disobedience Most of those who left Egypt would never see the Promise Land but still found hope understanding the connection between willing obedience and divine blessing Life is far too short and God's blessing to wonderful to miss anything he wants to give you |
2015-12-07 - Groundwork of Prayer I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with in prayer and fasting - Daniel 9:3 Daniel set the perfect example for us of what to do when bug changes are afoot He realized that 70 years of captivity had nearly run their course and God would shortly be up to something Daniel didn't know exactly what God had in mind but he did what he knew how to do in these situations:
God sent the angel Gabriel to explain to him the exact meaning - Daniel 9 What do you do when you sense that God is about to something big in your life? |
2015-12-09 - Don't Miss Your Chance You missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram - 2 Chronicles 16:7 Like so many kings of Judah, Asa started out doing good things for his kingdom Prophet Azariah: The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! - 2 Chronicles 15:2 Asa trusted and obey God at first but later he failed by relying on humans instead of God He showed his true colors when he entered into an agreement with Syria to stand against Israel Asa refusal to rely solely on God contributed to his death He developed a foot disease - he went to his doctors rather than first seeking God's help - 2 Chronicles 16:12 Where do you turn in yout times of need? |
2018-02-13 - Sincerity Sincerity a virtue the human heart craves and parents eyes seek for their children This is what we demand in all the higher relationships in life Sincerity is the very blood and breath of friendship There are some things we cannot be and many things we can not do, but within us, the one thing is within our reach-praying for a heart of sincerity If you want to see sincerity in its lovelist form, then come to Jesus He was incapable of a lie No other people so stirred his anger as men who pretended to be what they were not God expects every man to be what he claims to be It was the sincerity of Jesus which drove him unto deadly conflict with the hypocrites A hypocrite and Jesus cannot live together |