Your Love Awakens Me

Don’t like the video, but like the song.

When You Don’t Feel Loving

“Let love be your highest goal.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT)

As none of us is perfect, most of us have an issue of one kind or another. Probably my biggest issue was being afraid to love, which came from childhood hurts. A friend recently asked me if I ever still feel afraid to love and I said not very often but sometimes I do. “What do you do when you feel this way?” he asked to which I replied, “I do the loving thing.”

Nobody feels loving all the time, but we can always do the loving thing if we so choose. People who choose otherwise usually end up driving love away. I’ve seen this happen and I’m sure you have too.

Jesus never told us how we should or shouldn’t feel … he just told us how to act. Sure, it is important to recognize and acknowledge our feelings. Not to do so is to be in denial. However, it is equally important not to allow our feelings to control us. That can be childish and immature. But rather, we need to be in control of our feelings and regardless of what we feel, always do the right thing, the loving thing. This is a mark of maturity.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, no matter what situation I am in nor how I feel, please help me to be like Jesus and always do the loving thing—even if this includes tough love where such is needed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT).

Live

Jesus and His entourage were on their way into a small little town when they came across a funeral procession headed the other way. It was a poor widow who had just lost her only son. Most of the town was actually in the procession grieving with her. Jesus stopped the group, looked at this widow and said, “Don’t cry.” Then He went up to the casket, looked in, and said…

Live.

Jesus was in His home town of Capernaum. After healing a paralyzed man whose friends tore through the roof to bring Him to Jesus, calling a tax collector to leave His old life behind,  and healing a woman from a bleeding that had put her life on pause for the past dozen years, Jesus arrived at the house of Pastor Jairus. In the living room there was a large group of noisy “professional” mourners making a big stink that such a young girl had to die. Jesus had them all kicked out. Then He went into the girl’s room, looked down at the body and said…

Read the rest of the blog at:https://theriverwalk.org/2017/05/25/may-25-live/

Love is the Answer

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Galatians 5:13-15

Read blog at: https://lifereference.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/love-is-the-answer-2/

Little Children and Rich Guys

Sermon notes on Mark 10:13-31

https://lifereference.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/sunday-sermon-notes-october-28-2018/

All My Hope – music video

Essentials in Life

John 7:16–17 ¹⁶ Jesus answered, My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

Recently at a Bible Study I asked those in attendance – What are your essentials of faith? How would you answer that question? Do we base our faith on any essentials? Do we have any irrefutable truths you bank on in your walk with Jesus? Are there any absolutes for you?

What are the essentials of your faith – the essential doctrines? With so many denominations around and non-denominational churches too to attend – is doctrine an important part of your choice or not? If you are United Methodist – what is the reason? If you are Roman Catholic – why? If you attend a non-denominational church – is the church’s doctrine the reason? Why do we attend the church we attend? Is doctrine a part of that decision?

If having a Biblically based church is high on your priority list – what doctrines would be essential for you to have fellowship with a church family? When I speak with couples getting married – I ask them what essentials they might have for their life partner. If we have essentials in a life partner – surely – we should have essentials for those who are leading us to eternity – or at least we’re striving for that goal together.

I shared three essentials for a life partner with my three daughters as they were growing up. As they searched for a man to live their life with I encouraged them to seek after a man who 1) loved Jesus – 2) loved them – and 3) had a good work ethic. What were your essentials for a life partner? Did you have any for yourself or for your children?

What doctrines are essential for you and your faith walk? For some the list might be short and for others it might be long – but let’s start with three. If you say a doctrine is essential for you – how about saying why?

Today’s passage reminds us that His teaching came from God – not from His own words (as Jesus the human man). John 7:16–17 – ¹⁶ Jesus answered, My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Are your essential doctrines based on how you feel or think or on your understanding of the Word of God?

How about naming a few essentials of faith? How about naming a few essentials for a life partner? I’d love to hear your reasoning as well. What are your essentials in life – both earthly and spiritually?

Just something for us to think about today as we go on our way.

Comment at Ray’s blog site:  https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/essentials-in-life/

4 Things To Remember When You Feel Discouraged And Defeated

~ Marc and Angel

This morning I didn’t feel like doing anything.  It’s a combination of exhaustion from a few days of hard work and preparation for our upcoming Think Better, Live Better 2018 conference, and a lack of sleep with a sick 3-year-old in the house.

I couldn’t motivate myself to do anything important, which is a rare occurrence for me.  I just felt completely discouraged and defeated.  I started overthinking things and doubting myself, and wondering whether anything I do is worthwhile.

I sat there in this funk for nearly an hour and wondered how to get out of it.  Should I just forget about today?  Should I just give up on this project, because I’m not as good at it as I thought I was?

That’s what I was considering, at least for a little while.  But the better part of me knew this mild state of depression was temporary, and so I dug into my own intellectual toolbox for solutions – little tricks of the mind that can have a real effect on reality.

Here’s what works for me – four things to keep in mind (and do) when you feel discouraged and defeated:

1.  You are not the center of the universe (stop making it all about YOU). – I think we all have the tendency to put ourselves at the center of the universe, and see everything from the viewpoint of how it affects us.  But this can have all kinds of adverse effects, from feeling sorry for ourselves when things aren’t going exactly as planned, to doubting ourselves when we aren’t perfect.  So this morning, instead of worrying so much about myself, I thought about other people I might help.  Finding little ways to help others gets me out of my self-centered thinking, and then I’m not wallowing in self-pity anymore – I’m starting to think about what others need.  I’m not doubting myself, because the question of whether I’m good enough or not is no longer the central question.  The central question now is about what others need.  Thus, thinking about others instead of myself helps me move forward.  (as discussed in the “Inspiration” chapter of our book)

2.  You are more than one thing (loosen up and stretch your identity). – We all have this picture in our minds of ourselves – this idea of what kind of person we are.  When this idea gets threatened, we react defensively.  People may question whether we did a good job, and this threatens our idea of being a competent person, so we become angry or hurt by the criticism.  Someone falsely accuses us of something and this threatens our idea that we’re a good person, and so we get angry and argumentative.  My identity of myself as someone who’s motivated and productive and has great ideas… this was getting in the way this morning.  When I wasn’t productive, it made me feel defeated because I began subconsciously worrying that I wasn’t who I thought I was.  My solution was to realize that I’m not just one thing.  I’m not always productive – sometimes I am, but sometimes I’m unproductive too.  I’m not always motivated — sometimes I am, but other times I’m feeling lazy.  And obviously I don’t always have great ideas either – because that’s impossible.  The truth is, I can be many things, and remembering this helps me stretch my identity so it isn’t so fragile.  Then it doesn’t matter if someone thinks I didn’t do a good job – because I don’t always do a good job.  I make mistakes.  I am less than perfect.  And that’s perfectly OK.  (as discussed in the “Self-Love” chapter of our book)

3. Today is still a priceless gift (make the best of it). – I only have so many days left on Earth.  I don’t know how many that is, but I do know it’s a very limited number.  I know that each one of those limited days is a gift, a blessing… a miracle.  And that squandering this miracle is a crime – a horrible lack of appreciation for what I’ve been given.  And so, I reminded myself this morning that this day counts and that I still need to make the best of it.  That doesn’t mean I need to be hyper-productive or work myself into the ground, but that I should do something worthwhile.  Sometimes taking a break to nourish yourself is a worthwhile activity, because doing so allows you to regroup and do other worthwhile things.  But just sitting around in self-pity isn’t helpful.  So I got up and took my son for a long walk that we both enjoyed, and I came back feeling better.

4.  Even the tiniest possible step is progress. (take that tiny step). – It can be hard to get moving when you are seriously stuck.  This is how I felt a decade ago when I was stuck in a rut after simultaneously losing my breadwinning job and two loved ones to illness.  It was really hard to motivate myself when I didn’t think I had the strength to push forward – when I felt insanely horrible and sorry for myself.  But I took one tiny step every day, and it felt good, and I got stronger.  That’s what I did this morning too – I took the tiniest possible step.  Just turning on my computer, opening up a document, and writing a single sentence.  Such an action is so small as to seem insignificant, and yet so easy as to be possible when I was feeling defeated.  And it showed me the next step was possible, and the next.  And the end result is this email you’re reading now.  (as taught in the “Healing Your Depressed Mood” lesson of our course)

Colossians 2:8 Does Not Condemn Philosophy

Some well-meaning but very misinformed Christians discourage the study of philosophy on the basis of a verse in Colossians chapter 2. In Colossians 2:8, the apostle Paul wrote: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ.” This verse has become the chief proof-text for anti-philosophy Christians. In fact, even the famous reformed preacher John MacArthur argued against philosophy using this text. In The MacArthur Study Bible, he wrote “You know what philosophers are? They’re doodlers with words instead of pencils. They just make a whole lot of verbal squiggles. Colossians 2:8 says this: ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy.’” Unfortunately, this verse has been majorly misinterpreted.

KEEP THE TEXT IN ITS CONTEXT

Read more: http://cerebralfaith.blogspot.com/2018/10/colossians-28-does-not-condemn.html

5 Differences Between Law And Gospel Everyone Should Memorize

https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/5-differences-between-law-and-gospel-everyone-should-memorize