Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Day three of the book takes this verse from the first day, and begins to explain it in greater detail. Tom Holladay brings up a very interesting point. “God’s principals don’t change our lives, our FAITH in God’s principals changes our lives.”
This chapter is devoted to “All your heart” and when you connect this statement to loving God with all your heart, putting God first means that you have to have faith in him. Faith comes from our emotions, and our emotions come from the heart.
Mark 12:30 placed the order of how you need to love God with a definite purpose. Before you can put God as a priority you must first have faith in him. Faith in his existence, faith in his promises, that he will do what he says he will do, and faith that God will never turn his back on us.
With the people we come in contact with, misunderstandings can occur, and they can turn on us, ruining our faith in that person. They can eventually return, and we will forgive them because they are our friends. As a result of their betrayal we are a little more cautious when reentering the relationship. God will never leave us or forsake us, and he is deserving of “all your heart.”
It is important to remember that before we were born, God chose us to have a relationship with him, and this is engrained deep within all of our hearts, but it will ultimately depend on us, whether or not we accept his offer. We must decide to put God first, and this is what day four will be about.
Challenge: search your feelings to find the faith in God’s love.
Enjoy,
Allen
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
The quality of life
2 Peter 1:5-11
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to your knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Living the Christian life is not always easy. Sure, when things are going great, and life is wonderful, it may seem easy, but our everyday lives are filled with schedules, deadlines, bills, stressful jobs, and families to take care of. This chaos can be both stressful, as well as distracting, it is no wonder that some people stray a little.
2 Peter 1:5-11 talks about the qualities that make up the Christian life; Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. These qualities are not actions, or things that you DO, they are lifestyle choices that we need in order to live productive and effective lives for Christ.
Many people try to compartmentalize each quality, and prioritize them, but we can’t. Each one is just as important as the other, and if we are missing even one quality, we will become blind to it. If it continues, it won’t be long before we lose sight of the other qualities.
By following these qualities, you will stand strong in the knowledge of Christ and the sacrifice he made to cleanse us from our sins. We will also make ourselves open to hear what God has called each of us for. If we strive to nurture and cultivate these qualities in our lives, we will never fall, and Christ will welcome us into his kingdom with open arms. If we keep these qualities in our heart, we will still have the sources of chaos, but they will no longer be a cause of stress or distraction.
Challenge: Keep these qualities close to your heart, and share them often.
Enjoy,
Allen
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to your knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Living the Christian life is not always easy. Sure, when things are going great, and life is wonderful, it may seem easy, but our everyday lives are filled with schedules, deadlines, bills, stressful jobs, and families to take care of. This chaos can be both stressful, as well as distracting, it is no wonder that some people stray a little.
2 Peter 1:5-11 talks about the qualities that make up the Christian life; Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. These qualities are not actions, or things that you DO, they are lifestyle choices that we need in order to live productive and effective lives for Christ.
Many people try to compartmentalize each quality, and prioritize them, but we can’t. Each one is just as important as the other, and if we are missing even one quality, we will become blind to it. If it continues, it won’t be long before we lose sight of the other qualities.
By following these qualities, you will stand strong in the knowledge of Christ and the sacrifice he made to cleanse us from our sins. We will also make ourselves open to hear what God has called each of us for. If we strive to nurture and cultivate these qualities in our lives, we will never fall, and Christ will welcome us into his kingdom with open arms. If we keep these qualities in our heart, we will still have the sources of chaos, but they will no longer be a cause of stress or distraction.
Challenge: Keep these qualities close to your heart, and share them often.
Enjoy,
Allen
Monday, April 6, 2009
The door of Love
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you that our god may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of God and the lord Jesus Christ.
I remember when in elementary school gym class how we would always do sports that required two people picking their teammates. Of course, with flat feet and pronation, I was always one of the last ones called to be on a team. This process never really bothered me though because I had a mental strength that helped me to learn fast, and a creativity that wouldn’t quit. As I grew older, I realized that I was called before I was born to a purpose that only God knew.
God has given each one of us different gifts at different levels of ability. Some he has given creativity, some he’s given logic, just to name two. What he wants from us is to be worthy of his calling.
How can we be worthy? We can only be worthy through our faith in him, and it’s through our faith in him that he can show us the potential of our gifts. Faith is an act of free will. According to Revelation 3:20 Here I am, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
God will never force us to let him into our lives; it is only through the strength and courage of faith that we are able to open the door to him. Once we open the door of love by our faith, Christ can bring fulfillment to our purposes and acts of faith so that he can be glorified in us and us in him.
Challenge: Open your heart to Christ and listen for his calling.
Enjoy,
Allen
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you that our god may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of God and the lord Jesus Christ.
I remember when in elementary school gym class how we would always do sports that required two people picking their teammates. Of course, with flat feet and pronation, I was always one of the last ones called to be on a team. This process never really bothered me though because I had a mental strength that helped me to learn fast, and a creativity that wouldn’t quit. As I grew older, I realized that I was called before I was born to a purpose that only God knew.
God has given each one of us different gifts at different levels of ability. Some he has given creativity, some he’s given logic, just to name two. What he wants from us is to be worthy of his calling.
How can we be worthy? We can only be worthy through our faith in him, and it’s through our faith in him that he can show us the potential of our gifts. Faith is an act of free will. According to Revelation 3:20 Here I am, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
God will never force us to let him into our lives; it is only through the strength and courage of faith that we are able to open the door to him. Once we open the door of love by our faith, Christ can bring fulfillment to our purposes and acts of faith so that he can be glorified in us and us in him.
Challenge: Open your heart to Christ and listen for his calling.
Enjoy,
Allen
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