Some worship thoughts for followers of Jesus Christ!

Month: July 2013

Mercy and Grace

Grace

Definition of grace

We have life because of God’s mercy. We have eternal life because of His grace.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We journey through life on borrowed time. God in His great faithfulness and unfailing love renews His mercy with each morning. He chose us from the beginning to have life. It is His gift to us. It is a gift for us to invest and multiply. But as with all things, our lives and everything we know and experience are His — everything. He is good, compassionate, and a giving God. He does not withhold His goodness from the ones He loves. The only thing He does not claim is our bad choices. We must take ownership of our sin. But even still, His unfailing love made a way for us. In His great mercy and love for us, God sacrifices His only Son to be the just payment for all unrighteousness. It is through God’s gift of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, we have the opportunity to receive His grace through faith in Jesus. It is a free gift. It is unearned. His grace affords us His unmerited favor and gives us eternal life.

The Purpose of Marriage

Bride of ChristIn the first chapter of Genesis, God creates “man and woman” in his image. In chapter two we get the details of how Adam and Eve were created. In this current generation, the image of God through man and wife (‘Marriage’) is diminishing. Just as Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew, our hearts are hardened and we look for any reason to get out of a bad situation. We run away and hide. Just like Adam and Eve did! Divorce is everywhere. You see road signs posted everywhere that you can get divorced for just $99.99.

In today’s culture, one of marriage’s most visible enemies is sex. Adultery and homosexuality is growing at an alarming rate. It has never been so easy for the innocence of our children to be corrupted by premature exposure to sex. The curse of Sodom and Gomorrah is evident.

How can a child grow to be a responsible, moral adult — adhering to good values and honorable ethics if his/her parents are not there to guide, lead, and show him/her the right way? How can mom and dad represent the image of God when their love only works during the good times? Can godliness exist without strong parents loving and honoring each other for better or worse? You will have troubles in your marriage. You will have tragedy. Death, illness, lies, deceit, betrayal, and lust will not be foreign adversaries to any marriage. However, it is through our personal sacrifices that we gain victory of over those enemies and our marriages evolve into the image of Christ.

We are the bride of Christ. There is a reason why God uses marriage as the picture of His relationship with us. Marriage is lifelong. Other than your commitment to God, it is the greatest covenant and commitment a man and a woman can have to each other and the world. The purpose for marriage is not for procreation. More importantly, it serves as a testament to the world that God is Holy, alive and beautiful.

Never Too Old

OLD People18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18

We have Kingdom work to do this side of Christ’s glory right up until He takes us home. You are never too old. You are never too young. God looks at all of us as His children.

Because of sin, we age outside Eden. We create walls of prejudice between children, adolescence, teenagers, young and old. We all have work to complete for His glory. It doesn’t stop because we get older. I believe David cries out to God in Psalm 71, because he knew the urgency of God’s purpose for his life and time was his enemy.

Never let your age hinder your passion for ministry. You are never too old. In this broken world everyone needs ministering too. While you have breath, you have purpose. As time passes, use God’s gift of age and wisdom to make your space a better place to live for Jesus.

The Mystery of God

UnknownWe can know God’s will. It’s written throughout His Bible. We will never know His ways. He is too high. Jesus said that Eternal life was this one thing – to know the one true God. So we spend a lifetime on a journey to Him and an eternity with Him – to know Him.

Through faith, we call Him beautiful by a definition we can not see. Through faith, we hear Him in the silence and feel His presence in the stillness. Through faith, we love Him with feelings we don’t fully understand, yet, demonstrate our love through obedience to His will. His word says we live, move and have our being in Him. He surrounds us. He is in us. He is before and after us. But, most importantly He is with us.

I believe His will is simple to understand, yet it is so hard to live out. “Love me and one another.” On our journey through life we miss His mark so many times. We have formidable enemies battling for control over our complete submission to His will. We battle our self (flesh), the world, and Satan. Without Christ, we have lost, and we are lost. He alone was, is, and will always be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus was perfect in obedience to His Father’s will – perfect even to death on the cross.

ADD: Busyness

DistractedHe says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ~ Psalms 46:10

We are living in a generation of distraction. Satan does not have to work hard at taking your time and attention from God, he just allows our fascination with technology do it. How many times have you seen a group of people together and at least one of them was distracted by their cell phone (social media)? We have the ability to become more connected through technology, but it appears at the expense of social interaction. We are beginning to text, facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, etc., etc. more than we are actually speak to one another – person to person! It’s easier to text and control a one-sided message than make a phone call and actually have to carry on a conversation where reflective listening and spontaneous, heartfelt responses are necessary. What affect do you think this has on our relationship with Christ? If we can’t keep a focused conversation with the people we love around us, how can we personally relate to our awesome, holy God?

Our world is loud with distractions. Our Enemy uses them to keep us from doing the most important thing for our lives temporally and eternally – “seek and know God.” Self-control is the listed last in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but I believe it is desperately needed for this generation to come unto themselves, focus, and know He is God.

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