Part five in our series TrueYou.
3/26/08
3/19/08
3/12/08
3/6/08
What kind of friend are you?
What kind of friend are you?
Circle the following statements that best describe you.
1. I'm a dependable friend; if I promise to do something, I follow through.
2. I expect my friends to be loyal to me no matter what.
3. I'm a little shy; I like my friends to make the first move.
4. I come up with the fun and crazy things for me and friends to do.
5. My friends say I have a good sense of humor.
6. I wait for my friends to call me first.
7. I like to plan things for my friends and then make sure they do them.
8. I love helping my friends out of jams.
9. I sometimes hang back during social activities.
10. I like to observe others before jumping in.
11. I'm usually the life of the party.
12. My friends think I can be bossy.
13. My friends say I'm easygoing.
14. My friends think I'm a show-off.
15. My friends think I can be moody.
16. I don't like it when my friends don't agree with my plans.
17. I can be friendly with the most obnoxious people.
18. I like to be where the action is.
19. My friends say I'm not always reliable.
20. Sometimes I prefer being by myself.
21. I'm a take charge kind of friend.
22. My friends think I'm easily distracted.
23. I like to let someone else take the lead.
24. I like solving my friends' problems.
25. Some friends think I'm overly sensitive.
26. Some of my friends think I don't get involved enough.
27. My friends love having me around.
28. Some of my friends think I can be insensitive.
Phlegmatic – (golden retriever) - Questions: 1,5,6,8,10,13,17,23,26
Sanguine – (otter) – Questions: 4,5,11,14,18,19,22,27
Choleric – (lion) – Questions: 2,7,12,16,21,24,28
Melacholic – (beaver) – Questions: 1,3,6,9,10,15,20,23,25
3/5/08
3/4/08
Lion, Otter, Golden retriever or Beaver?
Discover Your Personality
Here is a small test to take to find out what your personality is . . .
In each box note the words that best describe your personality then double the number of words you chose and record that number in the box.
..>..>
| Lion | Beaver | ||
| Likes authority | Takes charge | Enjoys instructions | Accurate |
| "Let's do it now!" | "How was it done in the past?" | ||
| Otter | Golden Retriever | ||
| Enthusiastic | Takes Risks | Sensitive feelings | Loyal |
| "Trust me! It'll work out!" | "Let's keep things the way they are." | ||
Down below are some personality insights into who you turned out to be.
Biblical Example: Paul
Case Study: Acts 9:3-19
Strength: Goal-oriented, strong, direct
Weakness: Argumentative, too dictatorial
Limitation: Doesn't understand that directness can hurt others, hard time expressing grace
Otter- Otters are very social creature. Otter personalities love people. They enjoys being popular and influencing and motivating others. Otters can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them. Otter personalities usually have lots of friends, but not deep relationships. They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.) Otters like to hurry and finish jobs. (But jobs are not often done well.) The otter personality is like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.
Biblical Example: Peter
Case Study: John 21:1-22
Strength: People person, open, positive
Weakness: Talks too much, too permissive
Limitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline.
Golden Retriever- Good at making friends. Very loyal. Retriever personalities do not like big changes. They look for security. Can be very sensitive. Very caring. They have deep relationships, but usually only a couple of close friends. Wants to be loved by everyone. Looks for appreciation. Works best in a limited situation with a steady work pattern.
Biblical Example: Abraham
Case Study: Genesis 12-22
Strength: Accommodating, calm, affirming
Weakness: Indecisive, indifferent, unable to express emotional, too soft on other people
Limitation: Seeing the need to be more assertive, holding others accountable
Beaver- Organized. Beavers think that there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exactly that way. Beaver personalities are very creative. They desire to solve everything. Desire to take their time and do it right. Beavers do not like sudden changes. They need reassurance.
Biblical Example: Moses
Case Study: Exodus 3-4
Strength: High standards, order, respect
Weakness: Unrealistic expectations of self & others, too perfect.
Limitation: Seeing the optimistic side of things, expressing flexibility
2/28/08
TrueYou Part 1
Part one in our series TrueYou.
If you want to listen to the podcast - hit the link above.
If you want to listen to the podcast - hit the link above.
For the next few weeks we are going to try to delve inside ourselves and see who we are; why we are the way we are, and why we do the things that we do. Hopefully it will be a time for us to get a true sense of what is and isn't working in our lives. To do that we first need to go back to the beginning… we need to see how God created us and intended us to be. In the Book of Genesis there is the story of when God created man. Gen 2:7. And the LORD God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person.
To Adam, the first human, God gave the breath of life. There is a sense of true closeness here.
How many of you have ever taken a CPR course? You got pretty up close and intimate with Annie.
When you've taken this course you learn pretty quickly that to give someone their life back you have to get pretty intimate with them. You have to be face to face, and mouth to mouth, you have to actually give your breath to them because they are not able to do it for themselves.
We can see from the very beginning that when God created man he didn't create him from a distance like He did all the other things; instead He chose to do it up close and personal. I don't think that was any accident, I think that is the way that He wanted it to be then and I think that is the way that God wants us to be with Him today.
So, what is it that keeps us at arm's length from God if not even farther? Sin, we lose our intimacy with God when we sin… and ALL OF US SIN.
So, to get that back, we have to ask for, and be forgiven ……… and then and only then will we long again for that true intimacy (that closeness) with God.
I'm sure for most of you – you have noticed a lack of people in our society today who would be willing to ask God to come closer to them. They walk around not even realizing that the reason they don't want to get closer is because of the intimacy involved – that their sins will be revealed to an all knowing God. This is the same thing that happened in the scripture Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve ate the fruit that was forbidden for them to eat – they felt shame, at that moment all their nakedness was revealed and when they heard God walking about in the garden – they ran to hide from Him! Isn't that the same thing we still do today, we eat forbidden fruit…we take part in those things God would call sin and then because of our shame, we try to hide from God hoping that He doesn't notice us? This is not and NEVER WAS the way that God wanted humans to live. He wanted us close, walking daily with Him just like He did with Adam and Eve in the garden; He wanted us to have a face to face intimate relationship with Him.
God wants and seeks intimacy with us but man is afraid.
He also wants us to have intimacy with those people who matter to us, not just those people who we think are hot but those people that we truly love. Intimacy is much more than romance or sex… it is a sense of belonging – a connection that is real. We were never created to have cold, shallow, unfeeling relationships… we were to have deep meaningful intimate relationships filled with love. Today we can see over and over again, men running from intimacy with their wives and their kids and women becoming too busy to spend the necessary time to become intimately connected to their families. Years ago women began believing the lie that was perpetuated by the media and society that said - quality is much more important than quantity when it came to being home with their families. But what really happens is that out of that lack of quantity instead there becomes much less quality.
For you followers of Christ out there how many of you can argue with that… we see that when we don't do those things daily like spend our time with God praying and reading His word daily – that our relationship (our intimacy) soon loses it's quality. We quickly lose our intimacy – our closeness to Him.
Are you hiding from God?
For the next few weeks I hope to find that out. My hope is that when we get through this study that you will no longer feel shame and run from Him but instead seek the intimacy and closeness and run to Him.
Then you will have MORE PURPOSE in your life.
In Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life he says that most people struggle with 3 basic issues in life.
Identity; who am I, Importance; do I matter, and impact; what is my place in life?
Who am I? Identity.
I just told you how man was created, up close, face to face. God makes it clear to us who we are – He tells us in
Isaiah 44:2 I am your creator, you were in my care even before you were born.
To understand your true identity you need to start thinking of yourself as the child of God that you are. You are His son or daughter…you are a Kings kid and a king's kid gets treated quite well and they expect better don't they? It's how you see yourself… who you are that will make the difference.
Think about it this way…What happens when you have an old beater car?
How do you treat it?
Where do you park?
Do you clean the interior?
Do you spend the money going through the carwash?
If you have a new car?
How do you treat it?
Where do you park?
Do you clean the interior?
Do you shine it every week?
Know your worth. If you feel you are an old beater that's not worth much that is how you will treat yourself, BUT IF YOU look at yourself as a luxury vehicle , new…THEN you would take the best possible care of yourself.
This will trickle down in all areas of your life.
How you treat yourself emotionally.
Physically.
Do I matter? Ephesians 1:11 - it's in Christ that we find out WHO we are and WHAT we are living for.
Today the average life span is 25,550 days, obviously you've used some of them up already but what are you going to do with what's left? Everyone wants to know that they matter to someone, something, somewhere; they want to see themselves as something that's valuable with a lot to offer? Let me tell you that if you walk this planet, you matter to God. No matter how much you have or haven't done you matter to Him.
What is my place in life? Impact
You personally have a job to do while you are on this earth. How will you serve?
The bible tells us that we were saved to do work for Him, that we are His hands and feet.
Each of us has been given traits by God, use them…if your job is to encourage someone then do it. If it is to serve someone then serve them. If it is to teach – then teach them. Impact the world around you!
The bible says that when you do what you are called to do, it not only meets the needs of God's people but it also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God.
So who are you?
Do you matter?
What is your place?
Look to Acts 13:36 - David served God's purpose in his generation.
You are a child of the Most High God, you matter because He cares and created you, and you have a place to reach those people in your life for Christ in your generation!
2/21/08
1/31/08
Does God Like You?
Pastor Deb speaks on God's favor.
Does God like you? That may sound like an odd question to ask but there are reasons for asking it.
The bible says that all good and pleasing gifts come from God. It is God's desire to give us gifts. The most wonderful gift that He has ever given mankind is salvation; NO MAN can earn it… it is a free gift that we can accept if we so desire. But there are other gifts that God would like to give us too but they don't necessarily come free - these gifts come with the price tag of obedience. When we become obedient to God and we begin to seek His will, He will offer to us those things that will help us in our walk of faith which are wisdom, favor and blessings.
Last week we spoke about wisdom. I spoke to you about how God's word describes it as a beautiful woman. God tells us to avoid the woman named Folly who will only get us into trouble, and leads us nowhere but to the depths of hell.
The gift of wisdom; we learned comes with the price tag of beginning to fear the Lord.
This week we are going to discuss favor. Favor is a word that is spoken about in the bible over and over again, but still is misunderstood and overlooked.
But what is this favor about? Well I'm sure all of you have heard the word favor being spoken of in such ways as… "Will you do me a favor?"Or "I have a favor to ask of you."
The definition of Favor:
Actually when we look at the 1st definition we can see of what I spoke earlier - that God obviously gave all mankind favor when He offered His Son to die in our place to save us from our sins. He offered us this gift out of goodwill because justice would have been death. All of us are sinners…there's not a one of us who is not bent to evil.
But God also offers up to us favor as in definition 2. We can be looked at by God as: Approved of or held in high regard.
God speaks of this word favor right off the bat in the beginning of the bible in Genesis 4:4, 5 Adam lay with his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock, The Lord looked with FAVOR on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with FAVOR. This scripture goes on to point out why it is that God did not look with favor upon Cain's offering. It says that "Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?"
Whereas the key to wisdom is fear of the Lord, the key for favor is obedience.
God tells us that obedience is the answer to most of the struggles we will have in our faith…but if we do continue to be obedient to God's will then we can surely receive so much, much more than what we've known.
Now something big that I want you to understand…God gives people favor but that doesn't mean that He has favorites. Because His word tells us that He shows no partiality to man, He loves all mankind equally; but He definitely isn't pleased with all people in the same way. He may love you, but does He like you? Obviously, this happens. It is possible to love someone but not like them. How many of you out there have loved someone but really don't like them?
So, my opinion is that God loves everyone which is why He was willing to offer His Son to die for them but that when He likes you and is pleased with you that He will give us favor.
Don't believe me; how about all these scripture references where God says that He was pleased with someone?
Psalm 41:11 I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
And of course Jesus….Matthew 3:17 and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
In the lives that we live, we like those people who are kind, listen, are fair to us and help us out. God too, likes us when we show kindness, listen to others, and are fair with the people that we come into contact with.
How do you get favor?
· By following the commandments.
· By seeking after God's will.
· By imitating Jesus and following after Him in all things. What are your dreams for your life? I can tell you right now that you can have them if you begin to do those things that would make Christ like you. You can receive favor to receive those dreams. I am a big proponent of asking God for favor – I can tell you truthfully that I have prayed for favor for me and my family and I can tell you that I have been given opportunities where I shouldn't have ever had opportunities, but they've come because God made it happen; He gave me favor.
If you have a call to accomplish anything for God, anything at all, you can receive favor to accomplish it.
Moses himself asked God for favor…Exodus 32:11, But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God.
Gideon spoke to the angel of the Lord and said to him… in Judges 6:17 if now I have found favor in your eyes give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
Luke 1:30 the angel said to Mary – "do not be afraid, you have found favor with God."
Throughout the bible you can see over and over again that anyone who had a mission from God also received His favor to accomplish it.
Noah had a big task set for Him but Noah had favor. Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
The Favor comes not only from Him, but also from man who is around us; so that we can accomplish the things that God has set before us.
Genesis 39:2-4 The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
Ruth 2:10 she exclaimed to Boaz "why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?"
1 Samuel 2:26 and the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and men.
2 Samuel 14:22 Joab said, "today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servants' request.
When you seek favor from God – He can also give you favor with man. Favor is an awesome thing because those who have favor bless themselves and God's Kingdom but they also bless those other people who are around them. Believe me, I want those people who are working side by side with me to receive favor because they I too can get some of the benefits.
This is why Potiphar wanted Joseph to be in charge of everything… When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Potiphar put him in charge of his household and let everything that he owned be in his care.
What shouldn't you do if you want favor?
Don't speak evil for evil! …you need to handle trials well. Favor comes to those who do what's right even in the midst of trials and troubles. Gods' word tells us that how we handle things when we are being treated unfairly or poorly will make all the difference as to whether or not we will receive favor. Ex: Joseph with his brothers and Potiphar
Don't lie! God hates a liar. Speaking the truth finds favor. Deceit stops favor from being poured out on your life.
Don't flatter anyone… Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.
Don't lose your way. Don't fall victim to the seductress Folly.
Why want favor?
Psalm 5:12 for surely O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
Righteous living leads to favor and then favor acts as a shield.
When we receive favor we can have protection. Who wouldn't want this amazing gift? I guess those who just don't want to be obedient; for them it might difficult to ask themselves …
Does God like me?
1/24/08
Wisdom the True Hottie!
Two women call out from Proverbs, Wisdom and Lady Folly.
The bible has some interesting things to say about wisdom.
One of the most interesting things that I found is that it describes wisdom in feminine terms. In:
- Proverbs 4:6, 7 Never walk away from wisdom, she guards your life; love her – she keeps her eye on you. Above all and before all, do this: get wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Throw your arms around her, believe me, you won't regret it; never let her go- she'll make your life glorious. She'll garland your life with grace, she'll festoon your days with beauty
- Proverbs 7:4 talk to wisdom as to a sister.
- Proverbs 14:33 Lady Wisdom is at home in an understanding heart, fools never even get to say hello.
The interesting thing I found as I studied this was that God's word truly points out the difference between wisdom; who is looked at as a beautiful, prized woman that you should seek after and Folly, who is a foolish woman who's immoral and is a wanton seductress. God's word tells us where we can find both of these ladies.
WISDOM, (Proverbs 8 in the message) says – she has taken her stand at 1st and Main, at the busiest intersection, right in the city square where traffic is thickest. She lives on Righteous Road at the intersection of Justice Avenue, yelling out to everyone that she's there.
FOLLY, you can find her easily too but you're more likely to happen upon her, you run into her when you start to lose your way when you've wandered off.
And in Proverbs 9 she calls out too: There's this other woman, Madam Whore, brazen, empty headed, frivolous. She sits on the front porch of her house calling out to the people as they walk by… "Are you confused about life, don't know what's going on? Steal off with me, I'll show you a good time, no one will ever know"…But they don't know about all the skeletons in her closet, that all her guests end up in hell.
In Proverbs 7 it says that soon she has him eating out of her hand, bewitched with her honeyed speech, but before you know it, he's trotting behind her like a calf led to the butcher shop, like a stag lured into ambush and then shot with an arrow, like a bird flying into a net… not knowing that it's flying life is over.
God's word tells us to be cautious, to watch closely where it is that we travel.
We've talked before about how following Jesus is described as a walk of faith… but here we see that its important where we walk, how purposely we walk, and who it is we walk to that will make all the difference. James 3:13 message – do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk that counts. Mean spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourself sound wise isn't wisdom.
It's the furthest thing from wisdom, its animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next – not two faced.
(See, you cannot be a fence sitter and have wisdom)
How do we get wisdom?
First and foremost we can ONLY get it when we put our trust in God and seek after Jesus.
Proverbs 9:10 skilled living gets its start in the Fear of God, insight into life from knowing a Holy God, it's through me that your life deepens, and the years of your life ripen.
The very beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord… to recognize that our lives can be destroyed IF we do not put our trust in Him.
1. Ask God for wisdom.
James 1:5 - if you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.
God's word tells us that all good and pleasing gifts come from Him.
We need to seek God's wisdom… not the worlds because it is much different.
Right off the start in Genesis 3:6 – Eve made the mistake of eating the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that God had already forbidden her to eat from.
Why did she do it?
She did it because the food looked pleasing and she thought it would give her wisdom.
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it and also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. There have been many wrong choices done because something looked pleasing AND there have been many a poor choice done out of trying to gain worldly wisdom.
Eve was seeking after worldly wisdom when she ate from this tree… she had already been given the best instruction from God himself… but she risked that she could know better.
WE ARE NO BETTER THAN EVE– WE DO THE SAME THING ALL THE TIME!
Earthly wisdom brings on confusion, instability and disorder… but God's wisdom brings us sound mind, a firm path and complete order.
Travel the roads that she lives on instead and spend your time with her.
For when you do that – you receive much, much, more.
Psalm 33:18 says that the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him. On those whose hope is in His unfailing love.
You receive His watching out for you.
Even though nothing goes unnoticed by God, His eyes rest in a special way on those who truly fear Him. God watches over us and protects us from harm so that we will not die unless it is according to His plan.
Also: Psalm 34:7 the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.
You receive His protection.
God's word talks about ministering spirits that are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. He gives His angels charge over them, protecting them from physical and spiritual danger… BUT this promise is only reserved for those who truly fear Him. (Those who seek after wisdom)
AND: Proverbs 10:27 the fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
You receive a longer life.
And isn't that just like our God, He tells us to do a simple thing like seek wisdom, which is to fear Him, honor Him, and give to Him what He so rightly deserves and He gives us back so much more.
He guards us
He sends His angels to protect us.
And He adds length to our life.
All because we seek after the true hottie, the true beauty…HER, which is wisdom!
1/17/08
One Leg Over The Fence
Pastor Deb Speaks on Christians who try to walk on both sides of the fence.
Last week I spoke to you about having one foot in the grave. I told you that it is a place most people don't even realize they are. They aren't aware that they don't even need to move or make a choice to be there because that is the place they are in and it puts them inside their coffins just waiting for that final curtain call. I spoke to you from Ephesians
God tells us that we need to wake up spiritually, that we need to climb from this place of death and we need to let Christ show us how to live and how not to die.
In Deuteronomy 30:11-15 this command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it? The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. Now listen, today - I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death. Oh that you would choose life that you and your descendants might live!
See God's word says for us to choose life. It doesn't say for us to choose death because death is what we will get as long as we don't do anything at all.
I tell you all that to repeat what I told you last week. All of this having one foot in the grave business is something that most people aren't even aware of.
What I want to talk to you about now is those who are aware but somehow don't take the matter of climbing out seriously; the people who are straddling the fence.
Fence straddler's are an interesting bunch, because they are an uncomfortable sort of people. They don't fit in no matter where it is that they go – they aren't enough of a Christian to feel comfortable around the Christians and they aren't enough of the world to be comfortable in the world.
The reason why it's so uncomfortable is because God never intended any person who is a believer to be there for very long. His plan is to move you on or let you go but never to hold your hand while you have that one foot in that grave.
"So called Believers" who are really fence sitters will say that God is good, kind and loving – and He will wait for me to wake up and start my climbing; and to that I say… that is a lie from the enemy Satan himself.
Satan wants you to think you have the luxury of time to wake up and time to begin climbing but with God – you will always see His point which is – Today, choose for yourself the path… life or death.
You can choose NOT to wake up, and get climbing but don't deceive yourself into believing that you can have that one foot in the grave while you are doing it, because if that were really the case than none of us would have to get a move on. All of us would be able to sit back and chill out… and just go lukewarm.
NOPE, His plan is for us to make a decision and then live it.
We cannot blow hot one minute while we are hanging out at church or while we are with our parents or other believers and then blow cold the next while we are hanging out with our other influences because together that just makes us lukewarm.
Hot + Cold = lukewarm.
There are those people who speak all these strong words and such about God and His convictions but when those people get alone or they hang out with certain people they act totally different.
Jesus called those people hypocrites – that is what people used to call the actors of their times… God tells us to quit acting and start being.
I think personally the reason why there are so many hypocrites in the church is because people choose on a particular day to be a Christ follower but then they don't realize that it isn't a choice that you make one time and one time alone…. It is instead a choice that you make for yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY that you get up.
What are you concerned with God's will or your own happiness?
God's timing or your timing?
Being loved by others or holding fast to your convictions?
Are you more concerned with keeping up with your friends or letting them keep up with you?
Life is full of choices. Every day brings us new challenges and decisions for us to make. Every day is a new day, and every day means we either choose to live for God, by the standards He lays down in the Holy Bible, or we live to please ourselves by our own standards of right and wrong, like they did in the old days in Judges 21:25 when people did what seemed right in their own eyes. Sadly, I think the most horrible part of all this is that this IS HOW CHURCH is done today; churches have started to do what seems right in their own eyes… this has become normal. This is how people practice their faith. They think that the lukewarm church is a church that will get them to Heaven and they have been lied to because all that's happening is that they still stand with one foot in the grave. Fence straddlers love this lie… they find comfort in it because it doesn't convict and cause people to move!!!! Different lands have different gods. The Arabs of the
In fact you don't have to travel too far at all in America to be able to see a church; some with steeples, some without, some singing old hymns and some singing new worship songs….To the outside looking in – we look like we are a godly nation. We can do all these things that make us look holy, but all these things don't make us Christians or make God personally real to us at all. It is instead the choice that each of us makes every single day that will make Him real. Our choice that God tells us to make is about us deciding what it is that we love. We are told that we live in this world, but we are commanded by Jesus himself to not love it. God says we must love him with all our heart, strength, and mind. Fence straddlers are too preoccupied to do that because fence straddlers are in love with the world. Matthew
What is it in your life that you cannot seem to get a handle on – no matter how hard it is that you try?
Who is it in your life that you give MORE TIME TO than God?
What concerns you most… your physical body or your spiritual body?
Your money or your heart and mind?
Your so called friends or the one true friend?
Could you be a fence straddler and not even know it? Not after tonight you cant.
"Choose you this day who you will serve! Since the days of old, Christians have been called on to make the tough choices…Today you have the toughest and easiest choice to make…. Tough because it is going to take some real work and effort and "please dear God… You will lose some friends over it!" but easiest because all you have to do is ask for forgiveness and put Jesus first in your life and serve Him and you will just have diverted your whole destiny. Or are you happy just being the "churched" Christian who marches with one foot on high ground while the other drags behind you in the grave? Will you be just a part-time Christian, with a full time occupation with the devil as your employer, the first one to go to church and pray but then will quickly head back to the feeding trough with all the other swine that belong to this world? The other swine might be fooled by this sort of Christianity, the church that you go to might be fooled by it, even your spiritual leaders, parents and friends might be fooled by it… but Jesus is not. He just says that you are lukewarm… and He is going to spew you out of His mouth. Don't be a person that makes Jesus throw up! God knows there have been many… There are so many people who cannot make a decision for themselves. They live for the gray areas in life and they do not want to EVER think that there are absolutes in this life that we live. But to God He is all about the black and the white, the right and the wrong, the good and the evil, the light and the dark, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the gold and the dross, the friends and the enemies. IF you are not a friend of God – YOU are His enemy. If you aren't working for HIM – you are working against HIM. I pray that CYM is a no fence sitter zone! Because fence sitters are stuck – they aren't going anywhere. Their foot is in the grave and they aren't waking up and climbing out of their coffins. Do not
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