Motherly qualities in God!
There are many many Godly women in the bible that were used to do powerful things to for God.
Genesis 1:27
"Man" is made in the image of God. "Man" being just as much mankind and includes women. There is a side of Gods character that is directly connected to the good qualities and characters of a mother!
Every good masculine quality reflects the character of God and every good feminine qualities reflect the character of God as well!
To say that the image of God is only masculine is incorrect. God is both perfectly masculine and perfectly feminine. Although this is true, God chose to associate himself and distinguish himself as a father to us!
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
A mother has pure motives! They give and give without expecting anything in return. Mothers always find forgiveness for their children. Mothers poor themselves out physically and emotionally for their children! Mothers love unconditionally. There is not a better example on earth of unconditional love than the example God has given us in our mothers!
Mothers are constantly sacrificing what is best for them for the needs of their children! Paul used the example of a mother to describe his relationship with the church in Thessalonica.
What we want most in a God is a God that loves unconditionally. We want a God that loves like a mother. Who loves us at our worst like a mother would! Romans 5:6
God calls all of us live out these examples. Am I loving unconditionally? Am I poring my self out emotionally and physically for the people around me?
A mother holds nothing back!
An infant wants only what they need. As kids grow up they start wanting more and more things that they do not need. Children grow older and want more and more of the things that they do not need. A mother never holds back from giving her children what they need. God is the same way!
I can make a long list of what I've wanted in life that I have not received but there is nothing that I have not received that I needed. Like a mother God gives us exactly what we need! God holds nothing back and always supplies us with what we need!
A mother does what ever it takes!
1 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Paul worked when he did not have too. Paul was not a burden to the church. Paul did what ever it took. Mothers work when they don't have too, they are not a burden, and they do what ever it takes. Moms become what ever their children need her to be. God is for us what ever we need God to be. He meets all of our needs!
God is a God that does what ever it takes, how does what ever we need when we need it! He knows what we need and what we don't need. God will be what ever it takes because he loves us like a mother loves her children!
When we needed someone to take the blame for our sin and need to be saved he supplied a way for us to have life when we deserved death!
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Sunday, May 10, 2015
Perseverance!
Perseverance!
Perseverance is a theme that we see in the bible over and over again!
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Don't just run aimlessly. Run for the prize. We can persevere through many things but am I persevering with a purpose? What is my purpose and what is my prize?
You hear that your spiritual life is not a sprint but a marathon. This is partially true and partially false. With God we run a sprintathon! We don't need to pace our selves and yet the race is like a marathon in length. We need to run with every ounce of our being all of the time! This is only possible with God!
Story -- Kayla Montgomery -- State champion who ran with Multiple Sorosis -- She ran because she still could. Every moment she was able to run was a blessing. Perseverance was a blessing to her!
Never Give Up!
1 Timothy 4:15-16
"Persevere and IF you do you will be saved". Paul is very clear that perseverance is key to our salvation. Persevere in what you believe. Persevere in the the way you live your life! Persevere and push through when life is hard. Persevere through temptation...etc.
Life and doctrine are equally important! A life for Jesus demands perseverance.
Running the race is not about a sinless life where you never fall down. The key is running with everything we have and when we fall we get back up quickly and run with everything we have again!
Its About How You Finish The Race!
Its not about how you start a race but how you finish! No one remembers how won the first lap or who came in last place after the 2nd lap. The only won remembered is the won who came in first place and crossed the finish line in the last lap!
2 Timothy 4:6-8
The christian life is about how you finish and not how you start. My start was an ugly one. Full of sin and destruction! All that matters is the end of the end. If I run with perseverance and finish the race I will get the prize!
Death is the end. The prize is eternal life! I need to dream about heaven. No matter when my race is scheduled to end I need to be able to say, I finished it! None of us know when we will die or when our race will end. We need to live everyday able to say, "I finished it"!
Am I poured out, giving everything I have and able to finish the race leaving nothing behind!? Grace is what allows me to get back up, dust my self off and continue to run and to never give up!
Sent from my iPad
Perseverance is a theme that we see in the bible over and over again!
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Don't just run aimlessly. Run for the prize. We can persevere through many things but am I persevering with a purpose? What is my purpose and what is my prize?
You hear that your spiritual life is not a sprint but a marathon. This is partially true and partially false. With God we run a sprintathon! We don't need to pace our selves and yet the race is like a marathon in length. We need to run with every ounce of our being all of the time! This is only possible with God!
Story -- Kayla Montgomery -- State champion who ran with Multiple Sorosis -- She ran because she still could. Every moment she was able to run was a blessing. Perseverance was a blessing to her!
Never Give Up!
1 Timothy 4:15-16
"Persevere and IF you do you will be saved". Paul is very clear that perseverance is key to our salvation. Persevere in what you believe. Persevere in the the way you live your life! Persevere and push through when life is hard. Persevere through temptation...etc.
Life and doctrine are equally important! A life for Jesus demands perseverance.
Running the race is not about a sinless life where you never fall down. The key is running with everything we have and when we fall we get back up quickly and run with everything we have again!
Its About How You Finish The Race!
Its not about how you start a race but how you finish! No one remembers how won the first lap or who came in last place after the 2nd lap. The only won remembered is the won who came in first place and crossed the finish line in the last lap!
2 Timothy 4:6-8
The christian life is about how you finish and not how you start. My start was an ugly one. Full of sin and destruction! All that matters is the end of the end. If I run with perseverance and finish the race I will get the prize!
Death is the end. The prize is eternal life! I need to dream about heaven. No matter when my race is scheduled to end I need to be able to say, I finished it! None of us know when we will die or when our race will end. We need to live everyday able to say, "I finished it"!
Am I poured out, giving everything I have and able to finish the race leaving nothing behind!? Grace is what allows me to get back up, dust my self off and continue to run and to never give up!
Sent from my iPad
Living HIStory
Living HIStory
Story of Hiroo Onoda: 26 years after WW2, Hiroo refused to accept that the war was over and continued to fight and kill anyone that came to the island of Lubang.
The war was won at the cross! The spiritual battle between God and Satan was fought and ended at when Jesus died and resurrected. Satan although defeated continues to fight and to destroy and attack as many souls as he can before his time ends!
Acts 3:1-10
This beggar was never healed by Jesus because he left work to be done for Peter and John. To show Gods power through them. In the same way God puts people in our lives today that need healing and God has a story to write for them and for us. The battle has already been won! We only need to surrender to Him!
Jesus ministry and life was marked by three things:
1.) Physical healing
2.) Saving souls
3.) Getting those Souls to Heaven
These things need to define us as well as followers of Christ! If these things do not describe your life then your life is not describing a christian life.
It starts with the healing of physical needs. The second that the beggar is healed and starts jumping up praising God, Peter and John start preaching Gods word and healing him spiritually!
Do I meet the physical needs of the people around me? If there is a need and Jesus was there he would meet it and because Jesus is not physically there it is my job as Christ ambassador to meet those needs in His name! I need to start doing more for the people that are hurting around me!
Acts 4:32-37; 4:4; 2:41, 47...etc Too many scriptures about the disciples and their work in meeting peoples physical needs and saving souls!
Acts 4:28-31
Paul in his ministry spent the majority of his time strengthening the church and making sure that the disciples made it to heaven. Who has a better chance of staying faithful because you are in their lives!? Too many of us are independent spiritually. How am I staying deeply involved in someone else's life spiritually?
Becoming a disciples is easy. Its just a decision to surrender and make Jesus Lord of our lives. Staying faithful and fighting through temptation is the hard part. How awful would it be to die after the war was over and already one?
Sent from my iPad
Story of Hiroo Onoda: 26 years after WW2, Hiroo refused to accept that the war was over and continued to fight and kill anyone that came to the island of Lubang.
The war was won at the cross! The spiritual battle between God and Satan was fought and ended at when Jesus died and resurrected. Satan although defeated continues to fight and to destroy and attack as many souls as he can before his time ends!
Acts 3:1-10
This beggar was never healed by Jesus because he left work to be done for Peter and John. To show Gods power through them. In the same way God puts people in our lives today that need healing and God has a story to write for them and for us. The battle has already been won! We only need to surrender to Him!
Jesus ministry and life was marked by three things:
1.) Physical healing
2.) Saving souls
3.) Getting those Souls to Heaven
These things need to define us as well as followers of Christ! If these things do not describe your life then your life is not describing a christian life.
It starts with the healing of physical needs. The second that the beggar is healed and starts jumping up praising God, Peter and John start preaching Gods word and healing him spiritually!
Do I meet the physical needs of the people around me? If there is a need and Jesus was there he would meet it and because Jesus is not physically there it is my job as Christ ambassador to meet those needs in His name! I need to start doing more for the people that are hurting around me!
Acts 4:32-37; 4:4; 2:41, 47...etc Too many scriptures about the disciples and their work in meeting peoples physical needs and saving souls!
Acts 4:28-31
Paul in his ministry spent the majority of his time strengthening the church and making sure that the disciples made it to heaven. Who has a better chance of staying faithful because you are in their lives!? Too many of us are independent spiritually. How am I staying deeply involved in someone else's life spiritually?
Becoming a disciples is easy. Its just a decision to surrender and make Jesus Lord of our lives. Staying faithful and fighting through temptation is the hard part. How awful would it be to die after the war was over and already one?
Sent from my iPad
HIStory!
HIStory!
Gods story is the greatest story ever told! Gods story goes far beyond history. It includes history, the present, the future, and the heavenly realms!
Ephesians 6:12
For us our story has a lot to do with struggles. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not of physical things. It is purely spiritual. Satan rules the darkness and his story is just the opposite. While Gods story is about saving us, Satan's story is about how best to destroy us! At every turn Satan is there!
Satan is not Gods equal. He is s not the other side of the coin. Satan does not have the power that God has so he has to undermine God in every way he can! He does this through lies and deceit!
The lowest point of Gods story is the death of His one and only son!
Mark 2-3
All through these two chapters the religious people of the day question Jesus and eventually plotted to kill him because of the way he lived his life. They questioned him on forgiving sin, fasting, and the sabbath!
Jesus is attacked all through out the gospel! Jesus was under attack from the moment his ministry began! Mark 12:1-12 A parable that sums up Gods story and relationship with the Israelites!
Everyone of us has had a lowest point in their lives as well! Gods lowest point was made necessary by our lowest points! An all powerful God chooses to show his power and love by his sacrifice for us! God could have written His story any way he wanted to. God chose to sacrifice His Son because there was no better way to show his love for me!
Mark 14:10-11; 15:15; 33-34; 37
The highest point of Gods story is the resurrection of His one and only son!
The cross arrives at the perfect time! The New Testament writers of the episcopal wrote about Jesus resurrection more that his physical death. The high point in n Gods story is our salvation.
1 Peter 2:21-25; Acts 2:23-24;
Jesus took on the full punishment for my sins but God did not abandon him to the grave! Through Jesus resurrection I am able to live a new life!
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 God has triumphed over death! Death is what we fear the most but through God we are able to not fear! Because Jesus did not stay in the grave and resurrected we have hope in death and the start of a new life!!
Sent from my iPad
Gods story is the greatest story ever told! Gods story goes far beyond history. It includes history, the present, the future, and the heavenly realms!
Ephesians 6:12
For us our story has a lot to do with struggles. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not of physical things. It is purely spiritual. Satan rules the darkness and his story is just the opposite. While Gods story is about saving us, Satan's story is about how best to destroy us! At every turn Satan is there!
Satan is not Gods equal. He is s not the other side of the coin. Satan does not have the power that God has so he has to undermine God in every way he can! He does this through lies and deceit!
The lowest point of Gods story is the death of His one and only son!
Mark 2-3
All through these two chapters the religious people of the day question Jesus and eventually plotted to kill him because of the way he lived his life. They questioned him on forgiving sin, fasting, and the sabbath!
Jesus is attacked all through out the gospel! Jesus was under attack from the moment his ministry began! Mark 12:1-12 A parable that sums up Gods story and relationship with the Israelites!
Everyone of us has had a lowest point in their lives as well! Gods lowest point was made necessary by our lowest points! An all powerful God chooses to show his power and love by his sacrifice for us! God could have written His story any way he wanted to. God chose to sacrifice His Son because there was no better way to show his love for me!
Mark 14:10-11; 15:15; 33-34; 37
The highest point of Gods story is the resurrection of His one and only son!
The cross arrives at the perfect time! The New Testament writers of the episcopal wrote about Jesus resurrection more that his physical death. The high point in n Gods story is our salvation.
1 Peter 2:21-25; Acts 2:23-24;
Jesus took on the full punishment for my sins but God did not abandon him to the grave! Through Jesus resurrection I am able to live a new life!
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 God has triumphed over death! Death is what we fear the most but through God we are able to not fear! Because Jesus did not stay in the grave and resurrected we have hope in death and the start of a new life!!
Sent from my iPad
Job 31:1-4
Job 31:1-4
Revelation 2:20-29
God is patient but he is not tolerant! God does not tolerate sexual sin! God will work with me through my purity but he will not tolerate it. It also says that God give pure men authority over the nations! How can you have authority over anything through impurity. We feel defeated when we struggle with sexual sins.
What is purity? Unmixed, unpolluted, 100% with no additives. Sexual purity is saving all sexual gratification for the covenant of marriage. Purity in general is a relationship with God when God alone is enough! Genesis 2:4-7; 18-25. All sin is a lie from satan that telling us that God is not enough and that we need something else! The same with Adam. He was with God, walking with him and God was not enough!
Why absolute purity? There is only a union in marriage when there is total and complete commitment.
Satan is at was and attacking what God created to be pure!
1 Corinthians 6:16-18
All sin is not the same. Sexual sin is in a different category. Sexual sin is a sin against our own bodies and our bodies are the temple of God!
Ephesians 4:19; Proverbs 5:6-7; 7:21-23
Sexual Cycle......Negative Emotions = Disconnect/Isolation = Preoccupation/Ritual = Acting Out = Regret/Vow = Time = back to Negative Emotions.
Hebrews 3:12 -- Turning away starts at Disconnecting/Isolation! Instead of disconnecting and isolation we need to encourage one another and connect.
Help Cycle.....Emotions = Connect= Surrender = Help = Victory = Confidence = time = back to Emotions!
Sent from my iPad
Revelation 2:20-29
God is patient but he is not tolerant! God does not tolerate sexual sin! God will work with me through my purity but he will not tolerate it. It also says that God give pure men authority over the nations! How can you have authority over anything through impurity. We feel defeated when we struggle with sexual sins.
What is purity? Unmixed, unpolluted, 100% with no additives. Sexual purity is saving all sexual gratification for the covenant of marriage. Purity in general is a relationship with God when God alone is enough! Genesis 2:4-7; 18-25. All sin is a lie from satan that telling us that God is not enough and that we need something else! The same with Adam. He was with God, walking with him and God was not enough!
Why absolute purity? There is only a union in marriage when there is total and complete commitment.
Satan is at was and attacking what God created to be pure!
1 Corinthians 6:16-18
All sin is not the same. Sexual sin is in a different category. Sexual sin is a sin against our own bodies and our bodies are the temple of God!
Ephesians 4:19; Proverbs 5:6-7; 7:21-23
Sexual Cycle......Negative Emotions = Disconnect/Isolation = Preoccupation/Ritual = Acting Out = Regret/Vow = Time = back to Negative Emotions.
Hebrews 3:12 -- Turning away starts at Disconnecting/Isolation! Instead of disconnecting and isolation we need to encourage one another and connect.
Help Cycle.....Emotions = Connect= Surrender = Help = Victory = Confidence = time = back to Emotions!
Sent from my iPad
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