Fellowshipping & Praise the Lord with Doc329 (22)

doc329 · #31 6th October 2009, 02:46 AM

"GROW UP"
Ephesians 4:13-15 Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleigh of men, and cunning craftiness, thereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ.

It is the mark of our immaturity and part of the Devil's tactics that we label each other and stay inside our defensive circles, criticizing anyone outside who says or does things differently and refusing to what God has to say to us through one another.

We need to be mature enought not to be suspicious of one another; we need to know and love each other because it is only ( with all the saints) that we can grasp how wide and long, high and deep is the love of Christ. ( Ephesians 3:18 )
As we mature as Christians we will grow closer together to one another. We must learn to share, particularly our weakness. We must be real with one another.
We must grow up.

doc329 · #32 6th October 2009, 02:53 AM

As we “follow on to know the Lord” His presence, restoration, and blessings in our lives will be like the rain.
We give as we serve and follow Him but He will continually rain His Spirit upon us beyond our imagination.
As we “follow on to know the Lord” we walk deeper and deeper in to that river of His love.
We walk ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep, and then there are waters to swim in (Ezekiel 47).

doc329 · #33 6th October 2009, 06:47 PM

MAKING SUNSHINE IN SHADY PLACES "
Romans 25:2 Ler each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. [nkjv]

Life is a big bundle of littles, intended to be tied together by love. Life's joy depends on what cords bind you and what hand ties them. bound together we must be, either by cords of silk or by iron fetters.

How much of our happiness is placed in the hands of others!
The thoughts, looks, words, and actions of others can in a moment fill us with joy or sorrow. It seems that our life is in a great spider web and every thread is very sensitive. We at the center giving out and receiving back a thousand pulsations of joy and sorrow.

To change the figure, our hearts are a telephonic center, from which we send out varied messages, and get them back too. Messages of tenderness, of scorn, of healing, and mischief.

Who of us can live to ourselves?
How much we each have in our power to make others happy!
Here is a realm of Christian duty; little regarded by us, and I fear less practiced.

How many people in this age of competition have pondered Christ's words about loving their neighbor as themselves?
Even in family and social life, how many need to ponder the sin of being constant misery makers!
If one person kills another in passion, we call that murder. But if hard selfish nature frets another, and a loving nature to death, what do we call that?
No man can please his neighbor who does not please himself. We cannot give what we don't have. Without a fixed center there can be no circle

doc329 · #34 7th October 2009, 01:36 PM

When Jesus commanded His small group of followers to make
disciples of all nations, was that possible (Matthew 28:19)?
Certainly, if Jesus said it was!
When Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, was He being realistic?
Of course, because He was the One who would achieve reconciliation through them (2Co 5:19-20).

Do you treat commands like these as implausible?
Do you modify God's word to find an interpretation that seems reasonable to you?
Don't discount what is possible with God (Php 4:13). When God gives an
assignment, it is no longer an impossibility, but rather it is an absolute
certainty. When God gives you a seemingly impossible task, the only thing preventing it from coming to pass is your disobedience.

When God speaks, it can scare you to death! He will lead you to do things that are absolutely impossible in your own strength. But God will grant you victory, step by step, as you obey Him.
How do you respond to assignments that seem impossible?
Do you write them off as unattainable? Or do you immediately adjust your life to God's revelation, watching with anticipation
to see how He will accomplish His purposes through your obedience?

God wants to do the impossible through your life. All He requires is
your obedience.

doc329 · #35 7th October 2009, 01:47 PM

BLESSED

Each beatitude tells how to be blessed.
"Blessed" means more than happiness. It implies the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God's kingdom.
The Beatitudes don't promise laughter, pleasure, or earthly prosperity.
To Jesus, "blessed" means the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances.
To find hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter what the cost.

doc329 · #36 7th October 2009, 10:33 PM

It is not uncommon for the fact that Christians are the light of the world to be referred to. Though we still have much to learn about being the light of the world, it is a metaphor we understand quite readily - at least we think we do. Ironically, it is not the lead metaphor when used by Jesus in His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:13).

He first speaks about us being salt. Both metaphors are the concluding statements of the sermon's introduction in which Jesus describes the character of His disciples. We refer to this description as the Beatitudes.
Jesus' disciples are beatitude people and beatitude people are salt and light. Obviously Jesus used the two metaphors in combination because neither of them alone could convey what He wanted to tell us.

Nevertheless, we gain a better understanding by dealing with them separately. Though we are more comfortable with the light metaphor Jesus began with; "You are the salt of the earth."

To be salt is to do what salt does. To understand what Jesus meant by calling us salt we must discover what the original hearers understood salt to be. In Jesus' time salt was not the taste enhancer we most often regard it (though Christians do add flavor to the world). In His time salt was used as a purifier and a preservative. People put salt in or on foods to keep bacteria from growing and thereby preserve them for later consumption. They even used salt to cleanse wounds so they wouldn't get infected (and we think iodine is bad).

As the salt of the earth we are to be purifying preservatives. People who are filled with righteousness are people who are peacemakers and blessers of their persecutors..

Beatitude people are people who go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, love and care for their enemies, and give to the needy. Beatitude people are God's people whom He uses as instruments of His redeeming, cleansing, and healing work in our lost, dirty, and hurting world.
As we, by the power of His indwelling Spirit, en-flesh and speak His Word on this earth we are salt in the world's wounds.

Is it any wonder that the world sometimes lashes out at us?
Have you ever gotten salt into a cut?

Our living out His righteousness in a world bent on self-destruction keeps her from accomplishing it. Can we even begin to imagine what the world would be like without Christians?

doc329 · #37 9th October 2009, 02:28 AM

Imagine what a day that will be when God restores our fortunes.
What a day that will be when we not only believe the promise of God but we act on the promise of God.
Then we will be like those who dream. Our mouths will be filled with laughter.
Our tongues with shouts of joy.
And it will be said: the Lord has done great things for us.
Rejoice, people of God, this is our destiny. Heaven on earth. Live with joy, for our Lord is coming.

doc329 · #38 9th October 2009, 03:44 AM

John 8:34,36 " I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

The prodigal son thought that freedom meant doing whatever he liked. He had money and went off to live his life in his own way.
It wasn't long before he found that he was far from free. He was trapped by his own selfishness, his desires, his friends, and his lonliness.
His father described him at that time as lost and dead. And that is how our heavenly Father sees us as we go our own way.

We think we are free but we are dead and lost.
Freedom does not mean doing as you please. What kind of freedom would there be in a football game if every player did his own thing regardless of the rules of the game?

God's laws are like those rules; They are not designed to stop us from having fun, but to set us free from the traps of our sinfulness, to enjoy the best

barb754 · #39 9th October 2009, 01:09 PM

"Fear of the LORD" is one of the great themes of the Old
Testament. The phrase is particularly hard to translate, especially
in light of the repeated message of the Bible to "fear not" and
John's reminder that "perfect love casts out all fear." It means
more than "hold God in reverence." Generally, "fear of the LORD"
means that we remember our place in the order of things. We know we
are deeply loved by our holy Father in heaven. We recognize that we
are weak and sinful in comparison and are saved by God's mercy and
grace. We acknowledge that his majesty and holiness are far beyond
us and that we pale in significance before God. We come to God
acknowledging our need for him and our unworthiness to demand
anything from him. The incredible reality is that when we approach
God with this sense of awe and profound respect, he in turn
welcomes us with open arms and brings us close. (See Isaiah 57:15)

barb754 · #40 9th October 2009, 01:10 PM

Some aspects of faith are indescribable: they can only be
experienced and known by doing them. Taste the Lord. Sample his
goodness. Lean on his grace. Take refuge in his care. We are
blessed to find him near and take our refuge from life's greatest
dangers and death's greatest fears.