Tuesday, October 27, 2009
One of Those Parents....
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
What is a relationship?
I recently heard a stat that 70% of today’s American youth don’t know how to define what a relationship is! Another staggering stat is that 80% of
More that ever it is going to be important for us who do have the relationship with Christ to now become examples to the world. We need to show them that there is more to this “thing” we all have than just showing up to church or reading our Bibles every day. They need to not only be shown by our day-to-day walk, but also taught why it’s important and how they can get their piece of the pie. We have to be outgoing and willing to explain ourselves. This has to be more than you and I “playing church” on Sundays. This has to be more than us doing what we do in our homes behind closed doors. We have to be willing to go and make disciples – which really is what we’re called to do!
My question to you is this: Are you ready? It’s not going to be easy and there are going to be lots of hurdles to get past along the way. Do you trust God enough to take the leap of faith and be that example to others about Him? We know you can live for Him and have that relationship, now show others what a relationship with Him can do in their lives
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
What If?
What if two years ago you started a relationship with someone of the opposite sex even though you were married.
What if three months into that relationship your spouse found out, and three months after that the divorce was finalized.
What if six months after that the “other person” decided to leave you.
What if three months after that your kids decided they didn’t want to talk to you any more.
What if today you were working on a project involving power tools and had an accident.
What if you died there all alone in your workshop as there was no one there to hear your cries for help.
Now, what if instead, two and a half years ago you decided to fight back against the Devil and increase your time in His Word.
What if you strengthened your marriage by suggesting to pray with your spouse instead of spending time apart.
What if you spent time with your children playing and teaching them about God.
What happens if you have that accident now….
Every day we are attacked by the Devil one way or another. He tells us that skipping a day of our devotions isn’t a big deal. He tells us that we don’t need to build relationships with our spouse, our children, or our extended families. He tells us that this one day won’t be a big deal and that we can pick it up another time.
What do you think now, is it a big deal? What if you spent more time with God the next time you were attacked? What if you spent more time praying and worshiping Him who deserves our adoration? What would your life be like now?
Sure this may not happen to most of you reading this, but what if something like this did happen? What if you stopped spending time with God on a daily basis? What if.....
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Worship
Let’s look it up in Webster’s dictionary, shall we?
Main Entry: 1wor·ship
Pronunciation: \ˈwər-shəp also ˈwȯr-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English worshipe worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being, from Old English weorthscipe worthiness, respect, from weorth worthy, worth + -scipe -ship
Date: before 12th century
1 chiefly British : a person of importance —used as a title for various officials (as magistrates and some mayors)2 : reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence3 : a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual4 : extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem <worship of the dollar>
Well, I’m sure that helped clear things up for everyone, right? Ok, maybe not, so lets look it up in a thesaurus as well:
Function: noun
Meaning: excessive admiration of or devotion to a person
Synonyms adulation, deification, idolatry, idolization, worshipping (also worshiping)
Related Words adoration, deference, glorification, reverence, veneration; idealization, romanticization; affection, fancy, favor, fondness, like, liking, love; appreciation, esteem, regard, respect; approval
Near Antonyms condemnation, disapproval, disfavor, dislike, dismissal, disregard, hatred, loathing, scorn
Now I’m sure we all have it, right? What do you mean that those responses aren’t exactly how you feel about it? Well, I think that can easily be explained, read on:
Worship for me is something deeply personal. It’s probably different for everyone, and how you get to that point is also probably very different. For me I can get into deep worship with the right music in no time. I listen to the words of the songs I am hearing and can very easily feel God’s presence. To me that is what worship is all about, finding God and showing Him my appreciation for all that he’s done for me. I’m not one who will be outwardly showing that, but deep inside I’m screaming for Him. I know other people are quick to throw up their hands, sing loudly, clap, pray in tongues, etc. All of the above is approved by God as He just wants to have that relationship with Him.
How do you get into worship? How do you connect with God on a daily basis? Not only should we pray daily, but also spend time in worship and connecting with Him in every level that we can. The more we connect with Him, the less chance the world has to get in the way. Have you worshipped Him lately?