Christ our Chief Cornerstone, we are the field of His Harvest & place of His presence, object of His blessings.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling placeof God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22
How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!
It's like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that's where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
Psalm 133:1,3(msg)
Unity among us pleases Him and graces us for greater blessings.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Generosity is An act of Worship
1 Chronicles 16:28-29
New King James Version (NKJV)
28 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Give to the LORD glory and strength.
Give to the LORD glory and strength.
29 Give to the LORD the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
Your generosity is your strength and your giving brings strength to the house of God. God is surely in our house and our life when generosity abounds.
Psalm 96:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Give to the LORD glory and strength.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Home is Where God is
Psalm 90:1 "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" God has been our home from the beginning. Home is where God is. God is love. Home is where love is.When we love we create a home. What an amazing God we serve and what a family we have by just being in love with Him & others in our life. Everlasting home at heart and on earth forever... His love endures forever. "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations " Psalm 100:5 |
Friday, June 3, 2011
Four Types of Christians
Interesting Articles from http://biblestudyplanet.com/four-types-of-christians/
As we read through the New Testament we find at least four types of Christians.
Jesus addressed the Dead Christian in Revelation 3:2-3 when He told them, “I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.”
What is the work of God He found to be incomplete? John 6:29 tells us that “the work of God is that you believe in him whom he has sent.” And what is it we’re to believe? We find the answer to that in 1 John 5:11-13, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Once a person believes in, and calls on Christ to forgive them, they are forgiven and are “made alive” in Him (1 Cor 15:22).
Romans 6:16 warns that “when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.”
And Galatians 5:17 tells us of a battle that wages between the Spirit and the flesh. “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
We follow the Spirit when we “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires” and produce the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
We’ll stumble in our walk, but when we do, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We don’t have to be slaves to sin. We can be slaves to righteousness if we follow the Lord’s ways. Romans 6:17-18 gives “thanks to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
Jesus said He came so that we “may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Christianity is a faith that should be lived through both our words and our actions.
Jesus told Peter in John 21:17 that if he loved Him he would care for His followers. We’re all blessed with some sort of gift. Some are good at encouraging, some are able to teach, some love to pray, others have the gift of compassion. There are many different types of gifts but what they all have in common is the gifts God gives us are designed to serve others. This stands in sharp contrast to the world which put its emphasis on serving yourself.
4) The Complete Christian
We are encouraged in Matthew 5:16 to “let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
We should live our lives in a way that when people see us, they see Jesus, and God is glorified. When we came to Christ we took all the blessings that go along with it. Forgiveness from sin, freedom from sin, fellowship with God and the honor of representing the living God to the dying world.
As we read through the New Testament we find at least four types of Christians.
1) The Dead Christian
“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” – Revelation 3:1The first type of Christian we find is one who is a Christian in name only. The Dead Christian may go to church, and may even claim to follow Christ, but hasn’t truly come to Him for forgiveness.
Jesus addressed the Dead Christian in Revelation 3:2-3 when He told them, “I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.”
What is the work of God He found to be incomplete? John 6:29 tells us that “the work of God is that you believe in him whom he has sent.” And what is it we’re to believe? We find the answer to that in 1 John 5:11-13, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Once a person believes in, and calls on Christ to forgive them, they are forgiven and are “made alive” in Him (1 Cor 15:22).
2) The Bound Christian
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature… serve one another in love.” – Galatians 5:13aThe next type of Christian we want to look at is the Bound Christian. This is a Christian who is alive in Christ, but is bound by sin, and this hinders his relationship with the Lord.
Romans 6:16 warns that “when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.”
And Galatians 5:17 tells us of a battle that wages between the Spirit and the flesh. “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
We follow the Spirit when we “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires” and produce the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-24)
We’ll stumble in our walk, but when we do, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
We don’t have to be slaves to sin. We can be slaves to righteousness if we follow the Lord’s ways. Romans 6:17-18 gives “thanks to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
3) The Loner Christian
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:22-25The third type of Christian is the Loner Christian. The Loner Christian is alive in Christ and enjoys fellowship with God. His life is full of blessings but the Loner Christian is keeping his blessings to himself.
Jesus said He came so that we “may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Christianity is a faith that should be lived through both our words and our actions.
Jesus told Peter in John 21:17 that if he loved Him he would care for His followers. We’re all blessed with some sort of gift. Some are good at encouraging, some are able to teach, some love to pray, others have the gift of compassion. There are many different types of gifts but what they all have in common is the gifts God gives us are designed to serve others. This stands in sharp contrast to the world which put its emphasis on serving yourself.
4) The Complete Christian
“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10The final type of Christian we want to talk about is the Complete Christian. We call him complete because he alive in Christ, has a strong relationship with God and is a blessing to everyone around him.
We are encouraged in Matthew 5:16 to “let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
We should live our lives in a way that when people see us, they see Jesus, and God is glorified. When we came to Christ we took all the blessings that go along with it. Forgiveness from sin, freedom from sin, fellowship with God and the honor of representing the living God to the dying world.
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