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Is God for me?
About four years ago I was challenged as I reflected on the
lack of knowledge I had about what I really believed in. I would talk to people about God and at a
certain point I would hit walls in my conversations because I did not know the
answers to the questions that popped up from my conversations. I still do not have all of the answers and I
know that I am still growing daily but I can say with certainty that most of
the core questions on my own faith have been investigated and answered. I can’t say that these answers were an answer
to the question of my faith, but rather that it clarified and affirmed what was
already placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit.
I have talked to many people who have become hardened by the
adversities of life. Whether these
tribulations have come forth from bad decisions they have made in the past or
from very difficult circumstances of life, they have become, nevertheless, very
opinionated about the Gospel. I have
heard several people cite their reason for a non-active relationship with
Christ because of unanswered prayer. Common
conclusions include answers like God does not exist, or does not love them or
what the church preaches about God is not completely true.
When the subject of God comes forth, many people either want
to avoid the topic or they politely say, “That’s not for me.” These people do not get excited about this
topic on an objective level. On many
occasions, however, I have seen many people get excited when they feel like
there is proof that the Gospel message is not completely true or there is an
argument that there really is no clear “one right answer”.
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Only One Life Twill Soon Be Past
Only What’s Done For Christ Will Last
Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life's
busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in 'that day' my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God's holy will to cleave;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory
score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e'er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, "Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say “‘twas worth it all";
Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
Author Unknown
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In the midst of hardship, we need to surrender to God.
In the midst of hardship, we should not have bitterness,
resentment, and rebellion.
In hard times, Satan will do what he can to make us turn
away from God. He will try to highlight
the bad and make us in turn blame God and others. Then he will tell us to reject God and God’s
ways, for if a loving and good God truly exists, He would not allow this to
happen. Satan will try to blind us from
the Sovereignty and Holiness of God and magnify the pain – all the while
pointing out to us how unfair life is.
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Just Do It …
The world sells us the lie that living for ourselves is the
best way to live. We choose what we
consider as the best choice, irregardless of whether this choice was derived
out of fear, laziness, or greed.
We watch years go by without the results we dreamed and hope
for. We hear the world tells us “Just Do
It” and we get into more things than we can handle. The world’s wisdom ends up being a pseudo
antidote for what we really need to hear.
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Is Jesus Christ your ultimate goal in life? Is He the greatest thing you can attain in
life or is your faith in Him just a tool to get a better life for yourself here
on earth? Look at how many ‘Lord, fix my
situation prayers we pray’ vs. the ‘Lord, make me more like You doing my Father’s
will’ type prayers?
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Do you have problems? Do these problems seem to linger and never go
away? Does your life feel unbearable
from time to time? Are you upset that
life cannot be better than what it is?
One possible reason is that
you are too self consumed or too self focused.
I deal with this struggle on
a daily basis, as well as most of the people around me. It seems that most of our anxiety, anger,
resentment, disappointment, sadness and whatever emotional or mental hang-ups
we have, stem from a sense of thinking about what we deserve in this life or
what we currently lack here.
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Life is Hard, Where is My Joy
The High Periods
The high periods of my life include the time when I realized
that my sins were forgiven and God gave me a place in eternity. They also include times when God answered
prayers and revealed His blessings to me.
Another type of high period involves reconciliation and restored
relationships with love and forgiveness.
These are moments when I experience the love and the joy of my God.
Response: This
is a great beginning, but your high periods seem to be all about yourself. It has all been about what has happened to
you and how you were blessed. Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. As you focus your
relationship with Christ to how you can love Him more each and every day, you
will experience the Love of God in a new and refreshing way. Life is not about you. Don’t get me wrong, God will take care of
your needs and bless you in ways you won’t understand, but life is about living
for God’s glory.
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Life is Depressing
I fail often. I don't measure up to my spouse's
expectations or that of my friends and family. I usually cover my weaknesses
with anger or a defensive attitude. I aspire to be good at arguing or good at
picking at other's faults so I can cover up mine. But instead of experiencing
change in my life, I feel like this is who I will always be and life will just
go on. I have many struggles and a ton load of shortcomings. I will never be
that person God wants me to be. Like a thorn in my side, I am constantly
dealing with many of the same problems day in and day out. I know I need to do
better but it feels impossible. My life is depressing and hopeless. Common
responses are things like, "well what about you" or "well that's who I am, why
can't you just accept me for who I am?" or "I am such a failure, I can't do this
anymore".
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Faith
What is true faith? What is true love for the Lord of your life who died for your sins? How much faith do you really have and is Jesus really the Lord of your life? Do you really believe that there is something better waiting for you after death on this earth?
Within a few decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there were thousands of believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Nero, the Emperor of Rome, persecuted many Christians during the period of 64 A.D. to 67 A.D. In July of 64 A.D., a huge fire broke out in Rome which Nero falsely blamed the Christians of starting. The fire raged on for days and devastated a considerable portion of Rome. A historian by the name of Tacitus wrote the following as an eyewitness account of Nero's persecution of early Christians.
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God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:21
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