Decide to Dive

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. - Hebrews 4:16

In the post “Purpose of the Law”, brought out is the fact that it is impossible to be justified before God by our own efforts because no one is perfect. I remember from a sermon at the church I worship at the following point:

The Journey with Jesus begins with a decision (MK 1:16-17), with leaving the familiar (MK 1:12-20), with Jesus saying lets go, with a change in view (MK 1:17) and in following the real Jesus (Ac 9:10-11).*

The things that hinder us many times are self-inflicted. There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “Dive” that inspires us to take some risk when it comes to finding what’s important in life. The Journey with Jesus requires that we dive right in and start the continual change process by following His Way.

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*"Sermons." FUMC Waco. Web. <http://fumcwaco.org>.

Celebrate Differences

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. - Romans 15:7

God has made us all for a purpose and we need to celebrate differences. According to Guinness World Records, the tallest man living is 8 ft. 3 inches. The shortest man living is 2 feet tall. A startling comparison is that if humans varied as much in height as dogs do, the smallest person would be 2 feet tall and the tallest person would stand 31 feet tall!

The picture we get from the post “Always Remains the Same” is that we all are different. Some are skilled in teaching, some are skilled in administration, and others may be skilled in encouragement. We all also have some weaknesses but let us be thankful that God always remains faithful, true, righteous, and just. 

Rather than expecting perfection from others, we can accept each other as a child of God and work in unity using our specific gifts God has given us. Then we are not competing against each other but against our enemies like doubt, bondage, and hate.

As the scripture above says, we should approach each day with the attitude of accepting one another. Take inspiration from today’s song: Come As You Are by Crowder.

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Engrained in Who We Are

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8

Emphasized in the post “Practice What You Preach” is the need to know God’s instructions from the Bible and better practice or apply these instructions until they become an effortless activity throughout our day; a positive part of our life that becomes permanently engrained in who we are.

Once God’s principles become a part of who we are, we should search for others to join us in applying our faith. We should be creative in how to apply our faith. Are there apps we can use or even develop to help people apply their faith in their daily activities? Are there songs like Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong we can share?

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Living the Way He Teaches

Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You. - Psalm 86:11

The post “Integrate Faith with Actions” is about Paul pointing out that what we know in our mind needs to lead into the heart. It’s all about receiving God’s mercy and grace by accepting Christ first. Then, our hearts are transformed into committed followers of His Way.   

Every day can be amazing because we are putting the guidance of the Holy Spirit into practice. We can’t work hard enough to be saved but we can accept Christ in our heart and give it our best effort to daily show that we are saved.

Like the song Back to God by Reba McEntire, let us inspire others to begin today to integrate our faith with our actions because knowing God and accepting His grace makes our burdens lighter. Before long, the world will be changed for the better.

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Change for the Better

My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul, If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

In the post “Riches of the Soul”, one idea brought out is to put God’s Word into practice by evaluating our life and determining the changes that need to be made.

We spend a lifetime working hard and trying to save enough to someday retire. But along the way, our greatest activities are to accept the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience to help us change for the better.

Persistently living as the Bible teaches adds to the riches of our soul which we will have not only in this life but the eternal one too! Take inspiration from this song: Live Like That – Sidewalk Prophets and give it all you have today.

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Prescription to a Clearer Vision

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. - Philippians 4:8

A lie the world tells us is to do things on our own without any help from God. But why exchange the truth of God for this lie that leads to an unhealthy society? Instead, the prescription to a clearer vision is to give attention to our spiritual growth. Think of ways to feed our hearts and minds with positives from God.

Like the song Fix My Eyes by King & Country points out, we can change our course. We can accept the help God gives in Christ and accept the obvious as truth. The ways of the world always change but the character of God never does.

As a society learns how to live God’s way, individuals build up strong character, families support each other, and communities flourish. The post “Changing Course” provides an analysis from Paul about society’s issues, how to sort things out, and offers a prescription to a clearer vision. 

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Acknowledge the Lord

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. - Hosea 6:3

In the post “Giving all Honor and Praise to God”, the thought brought out is that there is no excuse for not accepting God’s power and divine nature because His invisible qualities can be clearly seen.

I remember a while back driving to work and seeing a double rainbow in the sky. I got out of my truck and started walking up the hill to my office when I realized that I left my badge in my truck so I walked back to my truck and noticed the rainbow again. This time, I took a few seconds to aim my smart phone to get a shot of the rainbow.

If we focus on God’s beauty, we are able to make it through anything and realize that at the end of the rainbow of life, there is a pot of gold because those who give up what’s in the world and follow Christ, receive eternal riches in the kingdom of God.

Watch this video of God’s Beautiful Creation, Awesome Scenery, and song by Brian Doerksen.

The world tells us God is not real but as I go through each day; taking walks and feeling the fresh breeze hitting my face and hearing the sounds of night that sooths my soul, I know the world is telling a lie and the ONE who created the breeze and unique music of the night is telling the truth.

This day with God, let us give honor to Him by noting when His invisible qualities are made plain to us. Let us tell God we are thankful and encourage each other.

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Doers of the Word

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. - James 1:22

Explained in the post “The Power of the Gospel” is that Paul wanted to share the Gospel with the Roman Christians because he knew the Gospel would meet their needs and the Gospel message would spread faster to all parts of the world.

 Today, we look around us in this world and see poverty, sickness, and pain. We may ask God why He doesn’t do something. The thing is, He did by giving us the power of the Gospel to be His hands and feet to the world.

The Gospel message is so powerful because it continues to grow and can never be taken away or depleted. It has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it that sets us free and never lets us down. It is like our fuel to energize us to do good works.

Maybe today it’s time for us to take to heart the song Do Something by Matthew West and be doers of the Word.  As the song says, if not us then who?

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Called According to His Purpose

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

As pointed out in the post “Fertile Ground for a Great Harvest”, Paul put a lot into his relationship with the Roman Christians. He knew that by teaching them, God’s purpose for him of spreading the Word would take root and the harvest would be plentiful because Rome was the center of communication throughout the world during this time.

Let us also see this purpose of Paul as our great purpose because the only things in life that last forever are the Word of God and our relationships with His people. Therefore, let us do things daily that last forever by getting to knowing God’s Word and creating a stream of compassion that flows from one Christian heart to another.

The song Who Am I by Casting Crowns points out that our forever home is with God. We are just here on earth for a short time. Our life on this earth will fade away into the sunset but our relationship with God and other Christians will last forever.

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