True Giving
As Jesus looked up, he saw some rich people putting their gifts into the Temple money box. Then he saw a poor widow putting two small copper coins into the box. He said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on." ~Luke 21:1-4~
This passage is really important. It's about a poor widow lady who knows how to give to God. She might have not given as much as the rich people, but the heart that she gave with the money she did was so much bigger and worth much more than the hearts that the rich people gave. It's really not about the amount of money that we give, but the heart that we give. We need to give wholeheartedly. God gave us everything He has, even His one and only Son. No matter how much we give, if we don't give Him all our hearts, we're not giving Him anything. Honestly, everything we have/own is not really ours. It's just in our possession as the moment, but it's all God's, so we can't give something that's not ours...especially back to its rightful owner. That is why the heart counts. If we're giving with a heart that says...oh...that's enough, the rest I need to buy those shoes...that's the wrong attitude.
That doesn't mean that we need to give God everything that we have. It just means that although we're tithing only 10%, or only giving a dollar during offering...it's the heart that counts, not the amount. So ask God for a giving heart, so that we can acknowledge Him as more precious than silver or gold...as most worthy of all our praise. We should say to ourselves, "I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing!"
2009-01-29
2009-01-28
January 28, 2009 Luke 12:35-40
Always Be Ready
"Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the thruth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later. Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don't expect him!" ~Luke 12:35-40~
This passage is about always being prepared. It's a scary thought, but we will never know when the Son of Man will return. The day that Jesus Christ returns is the day that we all should be awaiting. Before that day, we should show that we are ready. That when Jesus Christ does return, we are ready to be taken up to Heaven.
Just like my previous post, it says, "have your lamps shining." Those are the kinds of things we need to be doing at the moment. Before the return of Christ, that is our will on Earth. To be more like Jesus Christ, to share the gospel, to be the salt and the light of this world. By doing those things, we will be showing God that we are ready.
"Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the thruth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later. Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don't expect him!" ~Luke 12:35-40~
This passage is about always being prepared. It's a scary thought, but we will never know when the Son of Man will return. The day that Jesus Christ returns is the day that we all should be awaiting. Before that day, we should show that we are ready. That when Jesus Christ does return, we are ready to be taken up to Heaven.
Just like my previous post, it says, "have your lamps shining." Those are the kinds of things we need to be doing at the moment. Before the return of Christ, that is our will on Earth. To be more like Jesus Christ, to share the gospel, to be the salt and the light of this world. By doing those things, we will be showing God that we are ready.
2009-01-27
January 27, 2009 Luke 11:33-36
Be a Light for the World ~Luke 11:33-36~
"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lampstand so the people who come in can see. Your eye is a light for the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But when your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. So be careful not to let the light in you become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you."
This passage is about being the light in the darkness. There is so much evil in this world that it's so dark. We, christians, need to be the example, we need to shine bright in the darkness. It's a really simple passage, straight forward, and short. In order to be the light, we need to get rid of the darkness within our hearts. The evil in our minds, the lust, the temptations, the sin, selfishness, the foolishness, money, and etc. All these things make our lights dull, so in order to shine brighter, we need to ask God to help us get rid of these things so that we may shine brighter in this world. By this, we can show the world who we are...believers!
"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lampstand so the people who come in can see. Your eye is a light for the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But when your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. So be careful not to let the light in you become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you."
This passage is about being the light in the darkness. There is so much evil in this world that it's so dark. We, christians, need to be the example, we need to shine bright in the darkness. It's a really simple passage, straight forward, and short. In order to be the light, we need to get rid of the darkness within our hearts. The evil in our minds, the lust, the temptations, the sin, selfishness, the foolishness, money, and etc. All these things make our lights dull, so in order to shine brighter, we need to ask God to help us get rid of these things so that we may shine brighter in this world. By this, we can show the world who we are...believers!
January 26, 2009 Luke 11:5-13
So...I tried to post this yesterday and my blog wouldn't post...T.T
That is why I am posting it right now!
Continue to Ask
Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose one of you went to your friend's house at midnight and said to him, 'Friend, loan me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine has come into town to visit me, but I have nothign for him to eat.' Your friend inside the house answers, 'Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, if friendship is not enought to make him get up to give you the bread, your boldness will make him get up and give you whatever you need. So I tell you, ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened. If your children ask for a fish, which of you would give them a snake instead? Or, if your children ask for an egg, would you give them a scorpion? Even though you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" ~Luke 11:5-13~
This passage is about asking and receiving. The more we ask, the more likely we are to receive. By asking only once, we are showing our lack of devotion, boldness, desire, passions, and etc.
The previous passage discusses Jesus teaching about prayer. Prayer is important...it's hard, but it's worth it! We need to learn to pray continually, just like it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. No matter what, we need to ask God, even though He is already aware of what we need, we need to personally ask Him through prayer. Better yet, we need to continually do it. That shows Him our eagerness, our passion, for whatever we need. Scripture says, we need to ask, search, and knock. If we do, we will receive, find, and the door will be opened.
That is why I am posting it right now!
Continue to Ask
Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose one of you went to your friend's house at midnight and said to him, 'Friend, loan me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine has come into town to visit me, but I have nothign for him to eat.' Your friend inside the house answers, 'Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, if friendship is not enought to make him get up to give you the bread, your boldness will make him get up and give you whatever you need. So I tell you, ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened. If your children ask for a fish, which of you would give them a snake instead? Or, if your children ask for an egg, would you give them a scorpion? Even though you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" ~Luke 11:5-13~
This passage is about asking and receiving. The more we ask, the more likely we are to receive. By asking only once, we are showing our lack of devotion, boldness, desire, passions, and etc.
The previous passage discusses Jesus teaching about prayer. Prayer is important...it's hard, but it's worth it! We need to learn to pray continually, just like it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. No matter what, we need to ask God, even though He is already aware of what we need, we need to personally ask Him through prayer. Better yet, we need to continually do it. That shows Him our eagerness, our passion, for whatever we need. Scripture says, we need to ask, search, and knock. If we do, we will receive, find, and the door will be opened.
2009-01-25
January 25, 2009 1 John 2:1-6
Jesus Is Our Helper ~1 John 2:1-6~
"My dear children, I write this letter to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a helper in the presence of the Father--Jesus Christ, the One who does what is right. He died in our place to take away our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of all our people. We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands. Anyone who says, 'I know God,' but does not obey God's commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if someone obeys God's teaching, then in that person God's love has truly reached it's goal. This is how we can be sure we are living in God: Whoever says that he lives in God must live as Jesus lived."
This is a short passage about Jesus Christ, our saviour. Just like Joe had mentioned in service today, and as it says in scripture, Jesus Christ is the only way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through Him.
We all sin, but as believers, as followers, we shouldn't be sinning as much as we do. That's saying that we believe in God, but not showing that we do. That's making God lose His credentials since we are His people. We pray, teach me to be more like You, teach me to be more like Your son, Jesus Christ. Whenever we pray this, we should be praying this with a sincere heart, willing to become more like Jesus. Jesus was the only sinless man on Earth. He was perfect, and He had to die on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. It's only hypocritical to ask that we be more like Him, yet sin constantly.
We should look upon Jesus and truly desire to be more like Him. He is our example...scripture says, we're supposed to be the worldy form of Christ. That is our goal, to be a leader like Him, to be sinless like Him (although that's impossible), to share the gospel like Him, to have faith like Him, to have love like Him, and etc. He is the helper, the one who models who we need to become.
"My dear children, I write this letter to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a helper in the presence of the Father--Jesus Christ, the One who does what is right. He died in our place to take away our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of all our people. We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands. Anyone who says, 'I know God,' but does not obey God's commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if someone obeys God's teaching, then in that person God's love has truly reached it's goal. This is how we can be sure we are living in God: Whoever says that he lives in God must live as Jesus lived."
This is a short passage about Jesus Christ, our saviour. Just like Joe had mentioned in service today, and as it says in scripture, Jesus Christ is the only way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through Him.
We all sin, but as believers, as followers, we shouldn't be sinning as much as we do. That's saying that we believe in God, but not showing that we do. That's making God lose His credentials since we are His people. We pray, teach me to be more like You, teach me to be more like Your son, Jesus Christ. Whenever we pray this, we should be praying this with a sincere heart, willing to become more like Jesus. Jesus was the only sinless man on Earth. He was perfect, and He had to die on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. It's only hypocritical to ask that we be more like Him, yet sin constantly.
We should look upon Jesus and truly desire to be more like Him. He is our example...scripture says, we're supposed to be the worldy form of Christ. That is our goal, to be a leader like Him, to be sinless like Him (although that's impossible), to share the gospel like Him, to have faith like Him, to have love like Him, and etc. He is the helper, the one who models who we need to become.
2009-01-24
January 24, 2009 Romans 11:33-36
Praise to God
"Yes, God's riches are very great, and his wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways. As the Scripture says, 'Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been able to give him advice?' 'No one has ever given God anything that he must pay back.' Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him. To him be the glory forever! Amen. ~Romans 11:33-36~
This is a short and sweet passage that really says it all!!! "To Him be the glory forever!" Everything we have...we own...is not really ours. It's all God's, and He is just lending it to us for the moment, so that we can be occupied before we enter His Kingdom.
So...we've been struggling with a place for the retreat recently...but luckily, we are having it at church. Although we might see it as negative, because we're not retreating to another place, we should use this opportunity to better our situation. We should be thankful that we have a place to hold the retreat...scripture says, "No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways," just like that, we don't know why we ended up having to hold the retreat at church, but God may have a plan. We just need to make the best of it! I was thinking about it today...although we're pretty close to campus, so it's easier for people to leave and come back and stuff, because we're all sleeping in the same place, in one big room (guys at church, and girls at Joe's) we are able to have more fellowship and really experience the family environment. I believe this will be a great experience...especially for the guys cuz they need to be real troopers, sleeping in the freezing church building. ^^
Anyways, we really do need to praise God and acknowledge Him for who He is, most worthy of all our praise! He has given us everything we have, even our lives, and on top of that, He has given us salvation through His one and only son, Jesus Christ. No matter how much we give back to God, we can never thank Him enough and we can never take credit for what we do, because He deserves so much more. So, 'Praise to God!' "To Him be the glory forever, amen!"
"Yes, God's riches are very great, and his wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways. As the Scripture says, 'Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been able to give him advice?' 'No one has ever given God anything that he must pay back.' Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him. To him be the glory forever! Amen. ~Romans 11:33-36~
This is a short and sweet passage that really says it all!!! "To Him be the glory forever!" Everything we have...we own...is not really ours. It's all God's, and He is just lending it to us for the moment, so that we can be occupied before we enter His Kingdom.
So...we've been struggling with a place for the retreat recently...but luckily, we are having it at church. Although we might see it as negative, because we're not retreating to another place, we should use this opportunity to better our situation. We should be thankful that we have a place to hold the retreat...scripture says, "No one can explain the things God decides or understand his ways," just like that, we don't know why we ended up having to hold the retreat at church, but God may have a plan. We just need to make the best of it! I was thinking about it today...although we're pretty close to campus, so it's easier for people to leave and come back and stuff, because we're all sleeping in the same place, in one big room (guys at church, and girls at Joe's) we are able to have more fellowship and really experience the family environment. I believe this will be a great experience...especially for the guys cuz they need to be real troopers, sleeping in the freezing church building. ^^
Anyways, we really do need to praise God and acknowledge Him for who He is, most worthy of all our praise! He has given us everything we have, even our lives, and on top of that, He has given us salvation through His one and only son, Jesus Christ. No matter how much we give back to God, we can never thank Him enough and we can never take credit for what we do, because He deserves so much more. So, 'Praise to God!' "To Him be the glory forever, amen!"
2009-01-22
January 22, 2009 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
The Body of Christ Works Together
This passage is about the body. The parts that make a whole: ear, eyes, nose, hands, feet, and etc. If the body was only eyes, we wouldn't be able to hear, if only hears, we wouldn't be able to see. The different parts work together to make one body. Just like that, each part of the church works together to make a whole church!
The beginning of this chapter discusses the different gifts of the holy spirit. With these gifts, we need to come together as a church and that will make a difference. Each individual person has his/her own unique talent that God has given to him/her. Whether it may be to speak in front of a congregation, to play music in the praise band, to greet people, to clean, to count offering money, to lead people spiritually, to perform miracles, to pray for the church, and etc. There are so many different parts, and these parts have to come together to make a whole. We can't have a church with just a praise band, nor can we have a church with just a pastor. Each and every part needs to come together and work together, serving each other, in order to make a church~~UNITY! Every person within the church matters, even if not given a specific position in the church. Everyone should be a servant within the church because "we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit."
This passage is about the body. The parts that make a whole: ear, eyes, nose, hands, feet, and etc. If the body was only eyes, we wouldn't be able to hear, if only hears, we wouldn't be able to see. The different parts work together to make one body. Just like that, each part of the church works together to make a whole church!
The beginning of this chapter discusses the different gifts of the holy spirit. With these gifts, we need to come together as a church and that will make a difference. Each individual person has his/her own unique talent that God has given to him/her. Whether it may be to speak in front of a congregation, to play music in the praise band, to greet people, to clean, to count offering money, to lead people spiritually, to perform miracles, to pray for the church, and etc. There are so many different parts, and these parts have to come together to make a whole. We can't have a church with just a praise band, nor can we have a church with just a pastor. Each and every part needs to come together and work together, serving each other, in order to make a church~~UNITY! Every person within the church matters, even if not given a specific position in the church. Everyone should be a servant within the church because "we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit."
피드 구독하기:
덧글 (Atom)
