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Speaking the Truth in Love.
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Jun 10, 2006 7:06 pm
Mood: contemplative,
1450 Views
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The Word tells us to speak the Truth in love. Sometimes that means saying hard things. Dr. James Dobson says in his book, a Christian classic, Love Must Be Tough, that sometimes loving someone is telling them something that they don't want to hear. Loving someone is not saying something to them because that is what they want to hear. It is telling them the truth. In love, to me, means that you say whatever you have to say, even the hard things, with compassion, understanding and humility.
I have heard many people here at Big Church say or imply that we should not ever say anything negative to another person. I say that is a bunch of baloney! Loving people means sometimes saying things that they don't want to hear. I personally have had people say negative things to me that I really needed to hear. If they hadn't had the strength to tell me, I would not have changed some very bad behaviors or I would have gone down a very bad path in my life.
Jesus said some very negative things to people in the Word as did Paul. The things they said were said in love, though. They were meant to build up and better someone, not tear down or destroy them.
I think there is a very dangerous teaching in the church now-a-days. It says that we should be tolerant of everyone no matter what their lifestyle, what they say or what they do. This is a scheme of Satan, and it pains me to see good Christian people buying into this false teaching. If something does not line up with the Bible, we are to reject it. We are to warn the person doing or saying the wrong, not because we are better than they are but because we love them.
Tolerance is what will allow the Antichrist to take over the world. It has already allowed New Age and Cult teachings to enter into the church. If we don't adhere to what the Bible says, we will be deceived. It is that simple. I pray that no one here at Big Church allows that to happen to them.
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Who Is the Real Whitepanties?
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Jun 10, 2006 6:44 pm
Mood: curious,
816 Views
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I think that Whitepanties is an alter ego of someone that we know from here already. Do you agree? If so, who do you think it is?
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12
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Bible Study - Becoming a Living Sacrifice
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Jun 8, 2006 3:25 pm
672 Views
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Below is my first Women's Bible Study as a pastor's wife. I thought I would share it with you, along with my notes. I hope it blesses someone! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas so that I can add them to my notes for the next time I teach it. Thanks! Be blessed!
Becoming a Living Sacrifice
Becoming a living sacrifice is:
What our Christian walk is all about.
The foundation of our faith.
A sign of Christian maturity.
A process. We will never fully become a living sacrifice this side of Heaven, but must always be working toward that goal.
Romans 12:1-2
KJV - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
NIV - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What three things does God ask of us in these two verses?
To present our bodies as living sacrifices.
Not to conform to the pattern of this world.
To be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
What does presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice mean to you?
I am dead to myself and alive to God (Galatians 2:20; 6:14 )
I only do what He wants me to do.
I do not live to please myself at all.
Every decision I make I try to do what God wants me to do instead of what I want to do. That goes for the things I do and the things I say, also.
My life is not my own. I have been bought with a price. I belong to Christ now. I can’t just go my own way.
I put no confidence in my flesh (Philippians 3: 3 ).
Why should we want to become living sacrifices?
Because of God’s mercy to us, it is only reasonable that we give Him our all.
I have been bought with a price. He deserves nothing less (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ).
Because God wants us to and He only wants the best for us.
What does not conforming to the pattern of this world mean to you?
Not willfully sinning.
Living to please God.
Not following my own desires, being selfless.
Not doing what our human nature tells us to do.
Living by the Spirit, not the flesh (Romans 8:1-14 ).
Why shouldn’t we conform to the pattern of this world?
Not God’s will.
Not a good witness.
We have the power, through the Holy Spirit to live Godly lives.
We are commanded not to.
What does being transformed by the renewing of our minds mean to you?
Taking every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5 )
Thinking on good things. (Philippians 4:8 )
Seeing things through God’s eyes and not our own.
Why should we renew our minds?
So that we are pleasing God. So that we can do His will.
So that we can see things His way and not ours.
So that we don’t sin against Him.
What happens in our lives when we don’t present ourselves as living sacrifices to God?
We are not holy (set apart for His purposes).
We are not worshipping Him as we should.
We are not able to discern His will. (James 1:5-8 )
Fruit of the Spirit is absent (Galatians 5:22 )
What happens when we do the things asked of us in these two verses?
We become holy (set apart for His purposes) and pleasing to God.
We are worshipping God.
We are able to discern His good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives.
God is able to use us more fully for His glory.
We have God’s strength at our disposal (2 Corinthians 12:9 )
The fruit of the Spirit will be in operation in our lives instead of our sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-26 ).
How do we become living sacrifices?
God does it, not us (Philippians 2:13; 4:19 ).
We present ourselves to Him to do with as He likes.
Not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6 ).
By practice, we are becoming, we have not already become (Isaiah 28:9-10 ).
By praying and giving God permission to change our wills.
Pressing on toward the goal (Philippians 3:3-16 ).
By meditating upon God’s Word (Psalm 19:14 ).
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21
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Bryan and Jessica - May We Assume...
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Jun 5, 2006 7:05 am
Mood: curious,
986 Views
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Now that you have revealed your secret about eloping, my mind has been rethinking the post about pregnancy. Bryan and Jessica, are you expecting? Is Jessica with child? Enquiring minds want to know! LOL!
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19
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Ed's Mom Is Home!!!
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Jun 4, 2006 8:02 pm
Mood: ecstatic,
697 Views
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Just a quick note to let you know that Ed's Mom came home from the hospital today. She was there for 12 days. She seems to be fine now.
Thank You, Lord, for the miracle that You have performed in her life! You are so wonderful! I love you so much!
Thanks for your prayers, Everyone!
Be blessed!
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7
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Rules of Engagement for Arguments
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Jun 3, 2006 2:17 pm
Mood: contemplative,
766 Views
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As most of you know, I got married recently. Ed is the best! I am so thankful that the Lord gave me a man who is more than could have hoped or dreamed of asking the Lord for.
Even though Ed and I are perfect for each other, we are each far from perfect. We have had a couple sessions of intense fellowship already. I must say that I am surprised that it hasn't been more with our whirlwind courtship and then the stress of all we have been through in the last few weeks. (For details, see my previous posts.) Anyway, our times of intense fellowship have reminded me that there are Rules of Engagement when it comes to having a disagreement with your spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, friends, family, etc. I would like to mention a few of them. If you have more to add, I would love to hear them!
1. Don't ever, ever call the other person names! The argument may be over quickly, but those names will stay in the other person's heart, even if you didn't mean them.
2. Stick to the subject at hand. Don't bring other issues into the argument.
3. Never bring up past issues!
4. Always be quick to ask forgiveness for anything that you have done wrong.
5. Always be quick to ask forgiveness for how you made the other person feel, even if you didn't mean to make them feel that way.
6. Pray together as soon as possible, to allow the Holy Spirit to mend the hurt feelings.
7. If you hurt the other person in a particular way, try your best never to hurt him or her in the same way again.
8. Allow the Holy Spirit, over the next few days, to help you analyze the argument, to show you what you need to do to improve your relationship so that this argument does not need to be repeated. If legitimate issues were brought up, deal with them and tell the other person that you have dealt with them. If you need to ask the other person's forgiveness, then do it.
9. Always be ready to tell the other person where they were correct. Relationships are not about being a winner over the other person. It is about finding out what is best for the union. Wanting to win is selfishness and will destroy a relationship.
Well, those are my thoughts. A couple of things that I really appreciate about Ed and that he appreciates about me are these - we are each quick to ask forgiveness when we do something wrong and we are very careful not to hurt the other in the same way twice. These are awesome traits that the Lord has placed within us, and I would highly recommend that you look for people to be close to in your life with those same traits.
I welcome any Rules of Engagement for Arguments that you have found effective in your lives.
Disagreements will always arise between people who care deeply for each other. However, there is no reason for either person to walk away from a disagreement feeling personally wounded. If that happens, then there need to be some new Rules drawn up and followed in the future!
Just my thoughts...
Be blessed!
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12
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Our Authority in Christ
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Jun 3, 2006 2:04 pm
Mood: thoughtful,
734 Views
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Christ gave us authority over all diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits. How awesome! That is so exciting to me, to think that He gave us the power to set people free in His name.
There is one word of caution that needs to be spoken concerning our authority, though, that many people don't like to hear. People love to hear that they have power and authority. What they don't want to hear about our authority in Christ, though, is that we are only to use that authority when and how the Lord tells us to.
Jesus said when He was here that He only did what He saw the Father doing. He did not do anything by His own will. To do so would have been sin. It is also sin for us to do so. If we go around casting out demons and healing without the Lord telling us when and how to do so, we will be sinning. The Word tells us in Romans 12 to present our bodies as living sacrifices, and I believe that includes not using our authority unless He gives us permission to do so.
It is like a personal accountant. He is given authority to write checks for his employer, correct? What would happen if he just wrote checks whenever and for whatever he wanted to? Just because there is money in the checking account and checks in the checkbook doesn't mean that he has the right to write as many checks as he wants, right? It is the same way with our authority in Christ. We have an account that never runs out of money. We have an endless supply of checks. However, the resources in that account do not belong to us really. They belong to the Lord. We are only His representatives here. We are to be in complete submission to Him in everything we do, even the good things like healing people and casting forth demons.
Just my thoughts...
I welcome your thoughts on this idea.
Be blessed!
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To link to this blog (reallysaved) use [blog reallysaved] in your messages.
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