Filed under: Christian, Christianity, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
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Isn’t the weather outside, its what you put on
Isn’t the past, its what you do with the future
Isn’t the people who hurt you, its what you do with yourself
Isn’t the he-said she-said of now, its the i-will of tomorrow
Isn’t the sins you’ve committed, it’s the forgiveness you’re given
Isn’t the tears you may cry, it’s the ones who dry them
Isn’t the sickness you can endure, it’s the prayer you held to when you were
Isn’t the next few steps, it’s the next four thousand days
Isn’t the worries or doubts, it’s the release of going for it anyway
Isn’t the ones who took you for granted, it’s the ones who saw you through
Isn’t the strength you have, it’s the strength God can give you
Isn’t the lowering your standards, it’s God showing you even higher
Jordan Thomas/2008
Romans 5:5 (NIV)
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us
I just wanted to share this great poem that was written by my 15 year old.
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
I love the thought of my life being in the hands of the Father like a Potter. The thought that he is continually, lovingly working with me, moulding me, reshaping me into what He has envisioned for me.
What are your thoughts on the meaning of the following passage?
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Jeremiah 18
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, I Wonder, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life, Thought for the Day
You hear a lot of talk now days about living a life of purpose.
There are books that claim to help you figure out this age old question like Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” and even ones to help your church find it’s purpose with “Purpose Driven Church”.
With all of these helps, have we really learned our ‘Purpose in Life’?
Do you know your purpose in life? Have you made that discovery?
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
Growing up in the denomination I did…I was taught that we were called to be a ‘peculiar people’, set aside from everything of the world. We were told to be ‘in the world, not of the world’. The last point was taught to us as if it was part of the Holy Scripture.
I ran across this post at one of my favorite blogs “Deconstructed Christian“.
Heather writes the following;
- I’ve probably been reading far to much FSTDT, but I have been wondering about something lately.
With all the weird people around saying they’re being “persecuted for Christ” and living a completely separated lifestyle, it got me to thinking – how weird is too weird? As followers of Christ, are we called to be different in a way that makes us appear weird, strange, abnormal? Should we live our lives in a manner that causes us to be ridiculed and ostracised? Should we be enduring persecution because of the way we live? Is persecution really a marker of holiness?
According to the New Testament, we are supposed to be different, but also be all things to all people. How ‘weird’ by the world’s standards should that make us?
We are supposed to be known for our love. Is that enough? Should we be different in other ways? Is 1 Corinthians 13 how we should behave, based solely on love?
I’ve thought about this especially in the light of John 17. That’s where the “in the world but not of the world” idea comes from. And no, that phrase is absolutely not in the Bible, no matter how many people have told you that Jesus said it.
Jesus says himself in this passage that he didn’t just drop us off in the world so we could await his return. He sent us TO the world. There is a huge difference. We are sent to love, sent to care, sent to share our hope, sent to complete the work Jesus began. If we put ourselves on a red carpet and cordon ourselves off from the world with a big, red, holy rope, we are no longer sent – we are separating. That doesn’t fit at all with what Jesus said. It seems the thing we should be abnormal in is our love – for God and people. The Golden Rule in a nutshell.
You just can’t love effectively from the other side of the rope.
Thanks Heather for your insight.
What are your thoughts?
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
Ok…here is a little interactive blog for us all to participate in.
What are some things that we as Christians say….even the ridiculous stuff.
Let’s have some fun with it.
I will start it off with this one…
I will be praying for you!
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, I Wonder, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
Grace Community Church in Houston Texas, is currently involved in a fund raising drive to erect huge crosses at each of it’s two Houston locations. One on I-45 south at Dixie Farm Road, and the other on I-45 North at it’s The Woodlands Campus.
The planned crosses would stand approximately 200 feet in the air, possibly making them the World’s Largest Crosses.
Pastor Steve Riggle has declined to speculate how much they will cost or what the timeline for construction would be.
Is this really necessary?
I mean…couldn’t that money be used for something much more productive?
Color me perplexed.
What do you think about this?
(source: Monday Morning Insight / Chron.com)
(ht: Crummy Church Signs)
Bill Reichart is a pastor at Big Creek Church in Forsyth County, GA. He blogs at his personal blog, Provocative Church and his ministry blog, Ministry Best Practices.
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life, leadership | Tags: church staff, leadership
After being on staff at a few different churches, both as a volunteer staff member and a full time staff member, I have learned a few things that I believe are paramount to being successful in ministry.
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1. If your heart and vision doesn’t match with theirs…get out quick!
2. Always seek God’s heart and direction in everything you do!
3. Make sure that you and the senior pastor see eye to eye on everything. (Don’t let anyone or anything sacrifice your meeting with the pastor frequently to make sure that you are both working from the same play book)
4. Enter into every challenge with a meek and gentle attitude.
5. Don’t ever let a problem fester. Take care of it quickly.
6. Surround yourself with people of good character and integrity.
7. Do everything with heart and excellence.
8. If doing ministry has become a job…get out now!
9. Don’t play politics….keep your integrity in tact.
10. The person with the right skills and alot of talent is not always the right person for the job.
11. Everyone deserves at least one second chance.
12. Make sure you know where you are going, and that everyone else knows it too.
13. Contrary to popular opinion…take it personally…give it all you have…hold nothing in reserve. God deserves your very best.
Are there some that I missed? Let us know what you think.
**UPDATE**
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14. Never stop learning.
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, General, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
I stumbled across this post by Perry Noble that absolutely tore me up. It is a definite must read.
