The speech that changed America. Watch. Believe. Act.
Peace, Love, and Freedom
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ministry. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
TEN TOP TENS OF 2010: part 6
10. Brandon Scott Thomas
9. Blake Bergstrom
8. Patrick Mead
7. Anthony Evans
6. Joshua Graves
5. Terry Rush
4. Mark Driscoll
3. Pete Wilson
2. Compassion International
1. Trey Morgan
Which blogs do you like to read?
Peace, Love, and Good Blogs
Monday, November 15, 2010
LIFE LESSONS FROM DAD (Post # 300)
One month ago today Dad left this world to receive his reward. It's been a very difficult month, but it's given me more reason to reflect on the many things he taught me; Dad was such a great teacher (and the fact that I don't always get it right does not reflect the fact that he was such a great teacher). So, for my monumental 300th post, and in memory of Dad, I want to share my top ten list of the most important things he taught me. As was his custom, I'm going to back up every lesson with Scripture. I hope you get as much wisdom and insight from Dad as I have.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
- 10. Always keep your promises. Jeremiah 44:25
- 9. Tell the truth, always. Zechariah 8:16
- 8. Get out of debt and stay out of debt. Proverbs 22:7
- 7. Do things right the first time. Jonah 1
- 6. Be kind to people, even when you don't want to. Matthew 25:34-40
- 5. Be patient. Ephesians 4:2
- 4. Never complain. 1 Corinthians 10:10
- 3. Work hard. Colossians 3:23-24
- 2. Trust God. Proverbs 3:5-6
- 1. Be good to each other (That was his marriage advice to Steph and me, but it works for everyone). Matthew 7:12
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
SHAPE
S - Spritual gifts (Do I have the gift of counseling, benevolence, organization, etc.?)So, what's your SHAPE?
H - Heart/Passion (Do I have a passionate heart to serve those whom I'm called to serve?)
A - Abilities (What am I able to do well?)
P - Personality (How can my personality be used to help people see Jesus?)
E - Experience (How can I put my spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, and personality to work and gain ministry experience?)
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Back To Basics, part 4
So far, we've talked about our spiritual blessings in Jesus, being adopted into his family, and the grace he gives. Now, let's talk about unity.
Eph 2:11-22 (NIV)
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
As I mentioned in the last post, we were all at one point or another separated from God. We had no part in his family, his promises, his hope. But now, since we have believed in Jesus and named him Ruler of our lives, we have been included in the family of God to share in the hope of eternal life and all the promises that come with being his children. We have been brought near to Christ by his blood, reconciled to God, and unified as a family.
"We are not foreigners, not aliens. We're citizens, members of his household.
We seek the good, misunderstood, a brotherhood living for his household.
Once we had no hope, not a will to live.
Now we are a family with so much love to give.
We are joined together to become a holy temple,
built together to become a dwelling place where God can live."
Bonus points for anyone who can name the source of that quote.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Eph 2:11-22 (NIV)
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
As I mentioned in the last post, we were all at one point or another separated from God. We had no part in his family, his promises, his hope. But now, since we have believed in Jesus and named him Ruler of our lives, we have been included in the family of God to share in the hope of eternal life and all the promises that come with being his children. We have been brought near to Christ by his blood, reconciled to God, and unified as a family.
"We are not foreigners, not aliens. We're citizens, members of his household.
We seek the good, misunderstood, a brotherhood living for his household.
Once we had no hope, not a will to live.
Now we are a family with so much love to give.
We are joined together to become a holy temple,
built together to become a dwelling place where God can live."
Bonus points for anyone who can name the source of that quote.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Back To Basics, part 3
It's been quite a while since I blogged on this topic (sorry about that), so I wanted to try to catch up with Ephesians 2 and see if we can unpack this short-but-powerful portion of God's word to us. As usual, feedback/discussion is welcomed and encouraged.
Eph 2:1-10 (NIV)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let's break this down from the beginning. Paul is saying that we who follow Christ were not really living before we came to know Christ. We were simply existing, being led by the adversary instead of by the King. He says the adversary is the one in charge of those who are disobedient to God. We all did it. We all made selfish choices that we thought would make us happy and satisfied for the moment, not caring about the consequences of our actions or thoughts. We just wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. We didn't care about what God wanted for us. Then he calls us something peculiar, "objects of wrath." That means that we started off separated from God. That doesn't mean he hated us; he has always loved us because he created us. But it does mean that he was frustrated and angry with us because we were not at all interested in getting to know him and what he has in store for those who love and follow him. That's the way we all were.
But, since he loves us so much, he pursued us and pulled us out of the dead lives we were living and gave us new life in the name of Jesus Christ. It's called "grace."
{Let's pause here for a moment. I think one of the best explainations of grace (and mercy) was made this way:
Grace is getting what we don't deserve, mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Mind-blowing, isn't it?}
Now, this grace that we believers have been given is a result of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. God is so kind and loving to us that he purposefully sent Jesus to become the sacrifice for our sins in order to rescue us from this age in which we live and offer us joyful, peaceful, unmatched, unending, unimaginable life!
Ain't that good news?! Can I get an "amen?"
And all of this is done by us having faith (putting our complete trust and loyalty into something or someone) in Jesus, nothing else. There is nothing that we can do to earn God's grace. It is given as a free gift to all who will accept it. And this grace is such a wonderful gift that God tells us to share the grace we've been given with those who need it. Who needs it? We all do! If we didn't, then what would be the reason for grace in the first place? Although we don't do anything to earn it, grace becomes our reaction to this gift. Part of showing our gratitude to God is sharing grace with the people that God created and placed in our lives. As a matter of fact, God prepared in advance gracious works for us to do so that we could use his gift to its fullest potential.
Is any of this making sense?
Talk to me.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Eph 2:1-10 (NIV)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let's break this down from the beginning. Paul is saying that we who follow Christ were not really living before we came to know Christ. We were simply existing, being led by the adversary instead of by the King. He says the adversary is the one in charge of those who are disobedient to God. We all did it. We all made selfish choices that we thought would make us happy and satisfied for the moment, not caring about the consequences of our actions or thoughts. We just wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. We didn't care about what God wanted for us. Then he calls us something peculiar, "objects of wrath." That means that we started off separated from God. That doesn't mean he hated us; he has always loved us because he created us. But it does mean that he was frustrated and angry with us because we were not at all interested in getting to know him and what he has in store for those who love and follow him. That's the way we all were.
But, since he loves us so much, he pursued us and pulled us out of the dead lives we were living and gave us new life in the name of Jesus Christ. It's called "grace."
{Let's pause here for a moment. I think one of the best explainations of grace (and mercy) was made this way:
Grace is getting what we don't deserve, mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Mind-blowing, isn't it?}
Now, this grace that we believers have been given is a result of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. God is so kind and loving to us that he purposefully sent Jesus to become the sacrifice for our sins in order to rescue us from this age in which we live and offer us joyful, peaceful, unmatched, unending, unimaginable life!
Ain't that good news?! Can I get an "amen?"
And all of this is done by us having faith (putting our complete trust and loyalty into something or someone) in Jesus, nothing else. There is nothing that we can do to earn God's grace. It is given as a free gift to all who will accept it. And this grace is such a wonderful gift that God tells us to share the grace we've been given with those who need it. Who needs it? We all do! If we didn't, then what would be the reason for grace in the first place? Although we don't do anything to earn it, grace becomes our reaction to this gift. Part of showing our gratitude to God is sharing grace with the people that God created and placed in our lives. As a matter of fact, God prepared in advance gracious works for us to do so that we could use his gift to its fullest potential.
Is any of this making sense?
Talk to me.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Monday, October 26, 2009
Water, Anyone?
I was checking out the Compassion International website and came across this blog. Please give it a look as soon as you can. Someone needs you now.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
One Million Strong and Growing
You, too, can release a child from poverty in Jesus' name.
Sponsor a child through Compassion International today.
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
Monday, October 05, 2009
My Resilient Heritage
Today is an important day in the Brannon family. On this day, October 5, 1941, my dad, B. C. Brannon preached his first sermon. He is the only person I know of who has been a preacher for 68 years and is still at it! Although his health is not as steady as it once was, he still manages to find the motivation to study every day and prepare two sermons for each Sunday. I was beginning to wonder if he would be able to preach any more after coming down with pneumonia around his 90th birthday back in April, but my doubts were proven wrong in August. I haven't gotten to hear him preach since early last year, but I know he still "brings it" every time.
For those of you who know some of the history of the Churches of Christ, especially black churches, you know the name Marshall Keeble. Dad was baptized by Marshall Keeble back in 1939 and began studying to be a preacher at Keeble's seminary in Fort Smith, AR.
B. C. Brannon is my hero. He has been considered a great evangelist, a pioneer in the black Churches of Christ, and (most importantly) my dad. I am so proud of my dad and the legacy he is leaving for me. Someone who is determined to keep telling the Good News of Jesus until he is physically and/or mentally unable to do so will always have my utmost respect and admiration.
Even though there are only about seven people who attend services there on a regular basis, I will always have a certain fondness for the Jim Hall Street Church of Christ. It was the church where I grew up. It was where I made the decision to follow Jesus. It was where I was baptized. More importantly, it was where I saw my daddy at work week in and week out, teaching people about the God he knows and loves.
I hope to see Dad's name on this marquis for many more years. I pray he reaches at least 70 years in the pulpit. I would love to be in full time ministry at least half of the time he has been in it. Dad taught me what it means to never give up. I hope to live out that lesson!
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
For those of you who know some of the history of the Churches of Christ, especially black churches, you know the name Marshall Keeble. Dad was baptized by Marshall Keeble back in 1939 and began studying to be a preacher at Keeble's seminary in Fort Smith, AR.
B. C. Brannon is my hero. He has been considered a great evangelist, a pioneer in the black Churches of Christ, and (most importantly) my dad. I am so proud of my dad and the legacy he is leaving for me. Someone who is determined to keep telling the Good News of Jesus until he is physically and/or mentally unable to do so will always have my utmost respect and admiration.
Even though there are only about seven people who attend services there on a regular basis, I will always have a certain fondness for the Jim Hall Street Church of Christ. It was the church where I grew up. It was where I made the decision to follow Jesus. It was where I was baptized. More importantly, it was where I saw my daddy at work week in and week out, teaching people about the God he knows and loves.
I hope to see Dad's name on this marquis for many more years. I pray he reaches at least 70 years in the pulpit. I would love to be in full time ministry at least half of the time he has been in it. Dad taught me what it means to never give up. I hope to live out that lesson!
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I Need To Laugh Today
It's been one of those days.
I set my alarm for 5:15 AM (unfortunately, that's not a typo) so I could be ready to leave for my first day on the new job by 6:00. I'm noticing the older I get, the more I have to get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break (ain't it messed up that some of us have to take breaks from sleeping?!). This morning's break happened at about 3:15. It wasn't a big deal except for the fact that I never got back to sleep. Thank you, Insomnia. So, I get up and go to work. It wasn't bad. I'm learning what all I need to accomplish with the kiddos.
Anyway, I come home and pass all the way out for an hour or so...until I have to take another break! I go back to bed and wake up to the news that there was money taken from our bank account without our permission. So, I get up and deal with that, which is a headache and a half.
Now that that's all supposedly settled, I'm cranky! I need a laugh today, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The following clip is just what we need right now. I hope you laugh as much as (or more than) I did.
Laugh today. Just don't be "that guy!"
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
I set my alarm for 5:15 AM (unfortunately, that's not a typo) so I could be ready to leave for my first day on the new job by 6:00. I'm noticing the older I get, the more I have to get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break (ain't it messed up that some of us have to take breaks from sleeping?!). This morning's break happened at about 3:15. It wasn't a big deal except for the fact that I never got back to sleep. Thank you, Insomnia. So, I get up and go to work. It wasn't bad. I'm learning what all I need to accomplish with the kiddos.
Anyway, I come home and pass all the way out for an hour or so...until I have to take another break! I go back to bed and wake up to the news that there was money taken from our bank account without our permission. So, I get up and deal with that, which is a headache and a half.
Now that that's all supposedly settled, I'm cranky! I need a laugh today, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The following clip is just what we need right now. I hope you laugh as much as (or more than) I did.
Laugh today. Just don't be "that guy!"
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
Friday, September 04, 2009
Back To Basics, part 2
Installment #2 in our study of the new Christian walk takes us a step further into the book of Ephesians. As we discuss the following passage, feel free to add your thoughts to make this more of a discussion than a lecture (and not the most informed one at that!). I'll do my best to make sense of this for myself as well as my readers.
Eph 1:5-10 (NIV)
[In love] he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
What I'm understanding this passage to say is that God created us with the goal of us being adopted into his family. Have you ever seen a foster child who loved their foster parents so much that they asked to be adopted into that family? That's the picture here with God. He was our "foster dad" until we decided we wanted to be in his family forever. As a matter of fact, his will for us is to want to be in his eternal family so much that we make that life-changing decision. That's why he sent "the One he loves," Jesus, to die in our place for our sins and to rise from the grave, defeating death and giving us everlasting life with him! That's the best news ever!
The blood of Jesus has redeemed us, or brought us into relationship with God the Father. The blood of Jesus has been shed for the forgiveness of our sins. The blood of Jesus gives us the grace that we don't deserve, yet spares us from the punishment we do deserve. That's called mercy and I'm glad God is kind enough to give it to us. That's all part of the mystery of his will. I don't honestly have a clue why he loves us as much as he does. We don't deserve it. We do things to deny his love all the time. We deny his love by the way we treat non-Christians, the way we treat Christians, and even the way we treat ourselves.
Before I get off track, I'll close this section by saying that all this has been put into place as part of God's great plan "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." Someday this will all make perfect sense!
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
Eph 1:5-10 (NIV)
[In love] he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
What I'm understanding this passage to say is that God created us with the goal of us being adopted into his family. Have you ever seen a foster child who loved their foster parents so much that they asked to be adopted into that family? That's the picture here with God. He was our "foster dad" until we decided we wanted to be in his family forever. As a matter of fact, his will for us is to want to be in his eternal family so much that we make that life-changing decision. That's why he sent "the One he loves," Jesus, to die in our place for our sins and to rise from the grave, defeating death and giving us everlasting life with him! That's the best news ever!
The blood of Jesus has redeemed us, or brought us into relationship with God the Father. The blood of Jesus has been shed for the forgiveness of our sins. The blood of Jesus gives us the grace that we don't deserve, yet spares us from the punishment we do deserve. That's called mercy and I'm glad God is kind enough to give it to us. That's all part of the mystery of his will. I don't honestly have a clue why he loves us as much as he does. We don't deserve it. We do things to deny his love all the time. We deny his love by the way we treat non-Christians, the way we treat Christians, and even the way we treat ourselves.
Before I get off track, I'll close this section by saying that all this has been put into place as part of God's great plan "to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." Someday this will all make perfect sense!
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Back To Basics, part 1
A little while back I felt an urgent need to share the Gospel on this page. I wanted to give you Jesus in a way that was simple enough to understand yet relevant to what anyone may be dealing with in life at the moment. I hope it worked, even if only one soul decided to surrender to Jesus.
A good preacher-friend of mine reminds me on a regular basis that Christians often make the mistake of leading people to Christ, getting them baptized, and then leaving them to fend for themselves, not helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus whatsoever. Gotta win more souls to the Lord. Can't be wasting time teaching people how to be Christians. They just need to know!
So, I decided to try to give some help to you new Christians, and some reminders to us seasoned ones. If anyone has something to add, please feel free to leave comments (I've been feeling a little unloved in comment world anyway). Most of the Scripture references I will use, at least for a while, will be from the book of Ephesians. If you have a Bible, this is a great time to open it to Ephesians 1. If you don't have a Bible, fear not. Just click here for Ephesians 1.
And we're off... like a herd of turtles!
Eph. 1:3-4 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
The first thing Paul is telling us in this passage is that God is our Father and the Father of Jesus, which makes Jesus our Big Brother. But not in the way most Americans think of "Big Brother," as though someone is always watching us, waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us. In John 12:47 Jesus said that he "did not come to judge the world, but to save it." That means that even though he is always watching us, he is not watching us for the purpose of punishing us. He "chose us" to be his people and to live in a way that glorifies him before the world was even created. Before there was even an earth, he chose his teammates, and we get to be on his team!
Paul also said we have been called to live the way Jesus lived, "holy and blameless." To be holy means to be set apart for God's special purpose. When we are set apart for what God has in store for us, we give up our old way of life. We give up our old thought patterns, our old bad habits, our old way of treating people badly, our old selfishness, our old greed, our old pride, our old self and accept the new thoughts, habits, attitude toward people, selflessness, charitable, humble self that God has been so gracious to give us.
When we truly give up the old and accept the new, we get the honor of standing "blameless" before God who loves us unconditionally. John 16:33 says that we will have trouble as Christians. Becoming a Christian doesn't mean life will get easier or that you will get rich or that you won't get sick or anything of the sort. It means that life is going to be difficult, but we have the promise of eternal life with God, in complete love and fellowship with him for eternity. This life will be tough. The Christian life will be tougher. But everlasting Life trumps the worst situation anyone could ever even imagine! And for those who stand "blameless" by the grace of God, we will experience that Life!!!
How's that for hope?
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
A good preacher-friend of mine reminds me on a regular basis that Christians often make the mistake of leading people to Christ, getting them baptized, and then leaving them to fend for themselves, not helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus whatsoever. Gotta win more souls to the Lord. Can't be wasting time teaching people how to be Christians. They just need to know!
So, I decided to try to give some help to you new Christians, and some reminders to us seasoned ones. If anyone has something to add, please feel free to leave comments (I've been feeling a little unloved in comment world anyway). Most of the Scripture references I will use, at least for a while, will be from the book of Ephesians. If you have a Bible, this is a great time to open it to Ephesians 1. If you don't have a Bible, fear not. Just click here for Ephesians 1.
And we're off... like a herd of turtles!
Eph. 1:3-4 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
The first thing Paul is telling us in this passage is that God is our Father and the Father of Jesus, which makes Jesus our Big Brother. But not in the way most Americans think of "Big Brother," as though someone is always watching us, waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us. In John 12:47 Jesus said that he "did not come to judge the world, but to save it." That means that even though he is always watching us, he is not watching us for the purpose of punishing us. He "chose us" to be his people and to live in a way that glorifies him before the world was even created. Before there was even an earth, he chose his teammates, and we get to be on his team!
Paul also said we have been called to live the way Jesus lived, "holy and blameless." To be holy means to be set apart for God's special purpose. When we are set apart for what God has in store for us, we give up our old way of life. We give up our old thought patterns, our old bad habits, our old way of treating people badly, our old selfishness, our old greed, our old pride, our old self and accept the new thoughts, habits, attitude toward people, selflessness, charitable, humble self that God has been so gracious to give us.
When we truly give up the old and accept the new, we get the honor of standing "blameless" before God who loves us unconditionally. John 16:33 says that we will have trouble as Christians. Becoming a Christian doesn't mean life will get easier or that you will get rich or that you won't get sick or anything of the sort. It means that life is going to be difficult, but we have the promise of eternal life with God, in complete love and fellowship with him for eternity. This life will be tough. The Christian life will be tougher. But everlasting Life trumps the worst situation anyone could ever even imagine! And for those who stand "blameless" by the grace of God, we will experience that Life!!!
How's that for hope?
Peace, Love, and Chocolate
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
