1. Regular times set aside every day for reading the Word and prayer.
2. Developing constant contact with God- abiding in Him.
3. Continually seeking healing of my thought life.
4. Not being a lukewarm Christian, distasteful to God. Remaining in the purifying fire and heat of Christ.
5. Humbling myself under God's hand, letting go of ego.
6. Saying only that which will build others up; watching the mouth!
7. Seeing what God sees, loving what He loves, hating what He hates.
8. Remembering that everything I have is His.
9. To make life more serene and God-oriented, eliminating from my home clutter, arguing, complaining, and constant TV and other noise.
10. Thanking God for my weaknesses as well as strengths, because He made me exactly right.
11. Ordering my mental life so as to be constantly in prayer at a deeper level.
12. Keeping in my mind that if it is the Lord's will, I will live or die.
13. Expecting Him to create in me a heart of beauty and peace, rest and hope, love and singing. Alleluia!
Taken from Pastor Ray Ortlund
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
1 Timothy 4:12
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." -1 Timothy 4:12
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Japanese Girl Moves Mountain
After World War II, many half-Japenese/half-American and half-Japanese/half-European children were abandoned in Japan, left to die by a society that placed no value on their little lives. But Christian missionaries, seeing the children's plight, started orphanages. In one of these orphanages Irene Smith, an English missionary, cared for twenty-two of these outcast children.
One night one of Irene's orphans, who was sick and bedridden, heard a sermon about how having small faith can enable a person to accomplish great things. In the supporting scripture (Matt. 21:21 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.), Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith and didn't doubt, they could not only achieve "small" feats such as making a fig tree wither as He had, but they could overcome much bigger obstacles with their prayers such as moving mountains and casting them into the sea.
This sermon caught the little invalid's attention for a good reason. This little girl wished to see the Japanese Inland Sea again. She couldn't go to the beach herself because of her severe illness, and a huge mountain sat in front of the old building that housed the orphanage, blocking her view of her beloved sea.
At bedtime that night, the little girl asked to pray that God would move that mountain. Irene kindly replied, "No, God doesn't want to move a big mountain like that. After all, if He put that mountain there, why would He want to move it? When the Lord Jesus made that statement, He meant we should pray about the big mountains of trials in our lives."
"But, Miss. Irene, it says if you have faith and do not doubt, the mountain will move. God is great and almighty, and He could do it. For the Bible says so."
"Then go ahead and pray, child," Irene responded.
So every night the other orphan girls joined the sick child at her bedside for prayer and agreed together according to Matthew 18:19-20, earnestly praying that the Lord would move the mountain so the sick little girl could see the sea. Irene temporarily left the orphanage while on leave of absence to England. Months later, upon her return, she walked into the dormitory and found all the little girls in front of the window. Looking out, Irene could hardly believe what she was seeing: the Japanese Inland Sea!
"What happened to the mountain?" Irene called out, amazed.
"All we know is that we saw many kinds of bulldozers going up-and-down the mountain moving dirt," the girls answered, as their eyes lit up with joy.
Curious about this mystery, Irene went to the town office and spoke with local authorities about the mountain's disapearance. The mayor explained that coastal waves were eroding the land, so they needed the earth from the mountain to backfill the coastline. Sure enough , they moved the mountain and "cast it into the sea."
A few months later, the little girl who had diligently prayed to move the mountains passed away. And eventually, the old building housing the dear orphans was torn down. But the view of the Japanese Inland Sea is still there.
Friends, the mountains we encounter may be different shapes, sizes and location (whether literal, financial, physical, emotional, etc.) How we end up with our results clearly depends on our attitude and our approach. Nothing complicated, but just the simplicity of only believing.
One night one of Irene's orphans, who was sick and bedridden, heard a sermon about how having small faith can enable a person to accomplish great things. In the supporting scripture (Matt. 21:21 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.), Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith and didn't doubt, they could not only achieve "small" feats such as making a fig tree wither as He had, but they could overcome much bigger obstacles with their prayers such as moving mountains and casting them into the sea.
This sermon caught the little invalid's attention for a good reason. This little girl wished to see the Japanese Inland Sea again. She couldn't go to the beach herself because of her severe illness, and a huge mountain sat in front of the old building that housed the orphanage, blocking her view of her beloved sea.
At bedtime that night, the little girl asked to pray that God would move that mountain. Irene kindly replied, "No, God doesn't want to move a big mountain like that. After all, if He put that mountain there, why would He want to move it? When the Lord Jesus made that statement, He meant we should pray about the big mountains of trials in our lives."
"But, Miss. Irene, it says if you have faith and do not doubt, the mountain will move. God is great and almighty, and He could do it. For the Bible says so."
"Then go ahead and pray, child," Irene responded.
So every night the other orphan girls joined the sick child at her bedside for prayer and agreed together according to Matthew 18:19-20, earnestly praying that the Lord would move the mountain so the sick little girl could see the sea. Irene temporarily left the orphanage while on leave of absence to England. Months later, upon her return, she walked into the dormitory and found all the little girls in front of the window. Looking out, Irene could hardly believe what she was seeing: the Japanese Inland Sea!
"What happened to the mountain?" Irene called out, amazed.
"All we know is that we saw many kinds of bulldozers going up-and-down the mountain moving dirt," the girls answered, as their eyes lit up with joy.
Curious about this mystery, Irene went to the town office and spoke with local authorities about the mountain's disapearance. The mayor explained that coastal waves were eroding the land, so they needed the earth from the mountain to backfill the coastline. Sure enough , they moved the mountain and "cast it into the sea."
A few months later, the little girl who had diligently prayed to move the mountains passed away. And eventually, the old building housing the dear orphans was torn down. But the view of the Japanese Inland Sea is still there.
Friends, the mountains we encounter may be different shapes, sizes and location (whether literal, financial, physical, emotional, etc.) How we end up with our results clearly depends on our attitude and our approach. Nothing complicated, but just the simplicity of only believing.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Bible Online
http://www.youversion.com
This site has a great version of the Bible online with tons of ways to comment or read commentary. Also, you can also talk with others. I would highly recommend it.
This site has a great version of the Bible online with tons of ways to comment or read commentary. Also, you can also talk with others. I would highly recommend it.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
CCC Media Ministry Records Over 1M Decisions for Christ in 1 Month | Christianpost.com
"For the first time in its five-year history, the media arm of Campus Crusade for Christ recorded over one million decisions for Jesus Christ in a single month.
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In its announcement Wednesday, CCC’s Global Media Outreach (GMO) reported that 1,030,581 people indicated either a first-time decision to follow Jesus or a decision to recommit their life to Christ through one of more than 90 GMO-hosted Gospel Web sites in June.
"This is an historic event only possible by God's power," said GMO founder and chair Walt Wilson. "Over the past few months, we have seen an increasing number of people come to our evangelistic web and mobile sites."
Since its inception in 2004, GMO has seen the number of people making commitments to Christ grow from 21,066 people annually to more than 3 million people in 2008. For this year, the ministry had projected around 5 million decisions. In the first six months of 2009, it has already recorded 4.1 million.
The demand is so high these days that GMO has had to enlist the support from Northland, A Church Distributed, one of Florida's most prominent megachurches, to recruit and train 5,000 online missionaries by 2010. Even with the added support, the ministry admits it needs about 10,000 to meet the demand – 7,000 more than they currently have.
On an average day, sites like Jesus2020.com get 150,000 visitors, and about 25,000 of them click a button to say they want to learn more. Of those, about 5,000 a day fill in a form so an online missionary can contact them via e-mail.
In the first six months of this year alone, GMO’s 91 websites have drawn over 22.7 million visitors, prompted over 5.6 million Gospel inquiries, and led to over 800,000 e-mail being sent."
Read the rest at: CCC Media Ministry Records Over 1M Decisions for Christ in 1 Month | Christianpost.com
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Vision for this Generation
one generation standing firm. united as one body in Jesus Christ. rising up. following God. desperate for more of Him. because its all for Him.
loving Him. seeing Him. hearing Him. stepping out. stepping up. believing. having faith that moves mountains. faith that knows no bounds. through Him the impossible is made possible.
we take our cue from joshua. samuel. nehemiah. ezra. elijah. paul. we build our lives on the rock. we refocus our churches like the churches in acts. not on us but all on Him. establishing community. banding together. pushing one another. sharing. growing together. loving one another. doing life together.
raising our voices throughout the world. in worship. in prayer.
against inequality.
protecting the unprotected. eradicating poverty. mobilizing to spread truth. reaching the lost. establishing the great commission. sharing God's love. loving the unlovable. loving our enemies. fighting injustice. hoping for more. longing for heaven. fire in our gut. face down. hearts aflame. praying. seeking. living counter cultural. employing truths that shake foundations. resisting norms. defying low expectations. looking upwards and outwards. wanting more. passion overflowing for more of God's heart.
pursuing. pursuing significance. pursuing eternity. pursuing purity. pursuing holiness. pursuing relationship with our creator. pursuing God desperately. with all our being.
a movement. a revolution. a mission. a marathon. a relationship. in pursuit of something more. something deeper. a holy ambition. to see God change the world. to bring heaven to earth. change lives. save lives.
therefore we cling to Him. talk to Him. worship Him. believe in Him. love Him.
we are just ordinary people with a fiery passion to see an extraordinary God change the world. we despise evil. champion truth. we give anything in pursuit of God's will for our lives and His heart for this world.
we are the desperation generation.
We're All in This Together
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' -Matthew 25:37-40
Where is God calling you?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Revolution of Jesus
Jesus has been, and always will be, a threat to the established order of things. if we understand his birth as a revolution, then we may glimpse the revolution that his life will bring.
instead of being born into a well established and powerful family, Jesus was born to a couple of teenagers who couldn't even stay with their family in bethlehem, most likely because of the scandal of her pregnancy before their official marriage.
this is how love invaded our planet. this is how the revolution began. it’s unlikely, even absurd. but the last thing it should be is boring or predictable or explainable. this should incite passionate joy or passionate distain. this is either the greatest thing to ever happen or the most ridiculous idea ever suggested. that God should come among us as one of the "least of these".
not only did Jesus’ birth turn everything upside down; so did his life and what he taught. you must die to live. you must lose to gain. weakness is strength. joy exists in the midst of suffering. power is restraint. love those who persecute you. pray for those who hate you. it is not the strong or the wealthy who will inherit the earth, but the meek. the kingdom of God won’t be given to the religious leaders, but to the spiritual idiots (the poor in spirit). mourners, peacemakers, the merciful, and the persecuted can all find blessing in the kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the most subversive man to have ever walked the earth.
this is revolution.
if you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed. He marches into the world with kindness, peace, and love, and offers people a whole new way of looking at the world and living within it. His is the most radical message you can preach or live. He turns everything upside down and calls us to do likewise. Jesus is not vitally committed to our comfort and safety; He is committed to the advancing of his kingdom revolution in the hearts of people everywhere.
in talking about what his kingdom is like, Jesus announced, "from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. and forceful men take hold of it". in other words, God is doing something so powerful and dangerous that only those who are willing to embrace it with forceful intensity may take hold of the movement of God’s kingdom. the revolution of Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart or the middle-of-the-road. it isn’t safe. it isn’t comfortable. it costs us a great deal to say yes. we take hold of the revolution by abandoning ourselves to Jesus and letting go of everything else.
will we choose to follow a safe Jesus of suburbia – who exists to provide us with health, wealth, comfort, and happiness? or will we press on to find the Jesus of nazareth, the most dangerous and radical man to ever walk the face of the earth? we want the real thing. we don’t want to worship the counterfeits and settle for less than the revolution Jesus brings. we are moving beyond the unbiblical idea that the primary work of Jesus is giving us a ticket to heaven, and now understand that he is asking us for everything, to stand with him against all that is unloving and untrue in our world.
together, we are pursuing this revolution of Jesus.
Borrowed from http://www.rockharbor.org
instead of being born into a well established and powerful family, Jesus was born to a couple of teenagers who couldn't even stay with their family in bethlehem, most likely because of the scandal of her pregnancy before their official marriage.
this is how love invaded our planet. this is how the revolution began. it’s unlikely, even absurd. but the last thing it should be is boring or predictable or explainable. this should incite passionate joy or passionate distain. this is either the greatest thing to ever happen or the most ridiculous idea ever suggested. that God should come among us as one of the "least of these".
not only did Jesus’ birth turn everything upside down; so did his life and what he taught. you must die to live. you must lose to gain. weakness is strength. joy exists in the midst of suffering. power is restraint. love those who persecute you. pray for those who hate you. it is not the strong or the wealthy who will inherit the earth, but the meek. the kingdom of God won’t be given to the religious leaders, but to the spiritual idiots (the poor in spirit). mourners, peacemakers, the merciful, and the persecuted can all find blessing in the kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus Christ is the most subversive man to have ever walked the earth.
this is revolution.
if you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed. He marches into the world with kindness, peace, and love, and offers people a whole new way of looking at the world and living within it. His is the most radical message you can preach or live. He turns everything upside down and calls us to do likewise. Jesus is not vitally committed to our comfort and safety; He is committed to the advancing of his kingdom revolution in the hearts of people everywhere.
in talking about what his kingdom is like, Jesus announced, "from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. and forceful men take hold of it". in other words, God is doing something so powerful and dangerous that only those who are willing to embrace it with forceful intensity may take hold of the movement of God’s kingdom. the revolution of Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart or the middle-of-the-road. it isn’t safe. it isn’t comfortable. it costs us a great deal to say yes. we take hold of the revolution by abandoning ourselves to Jesus and letting go of everything else.
will we choose to follow a safe Jesus of suburbia – who exists to provide us with health, wealth, comfort, and happiness? or will we press on to find the Jesus of nazareth, the most dangerous and radical man to ever walk the face of the earth? we want the real thing. we don’t want to worship the counterfeits and settle for less than the revolution Jesus brings. we are moving beyond the unbiblical idea that the primary work of Jesus is giving us a ticket to heaven, and now understand that he is asking us for everything, to stand with him against all that is unloving and untrue in our world.
together, we are pursuing this revolution of Jesus.
Borrowed from http://www.rockharbor.org
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