I Think I Can

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.¹

 

Remember The Little Engine That Could? Her famous words are probably running through your mind now; “I think I can…I think I can…I think I can”. The timeless story of a little train engine who pulled a load that was much too big for her, up and over a mountain. I’m sure when we heard that story as children we never imagined how much it would resemble real life! How many times have we tackled situations that were just a bit too large for us? At one time or another we have all been faced with decisions that seemed overwhelming. How many of us have been able to relate to that little engine?

As Christians, there is another mountain before us that is sometimes a little harder to see and a whole lot harder to get over. That mountain is sin. Sometimes the sin is a small hill, and we can overcome it easily. But when that sin begins to consume our thoughts and our actions it becomes a fearful mountain, and you may begin to wonder if you really can conquer it. We can get a complacent attitude and begin to make excuses for our sin. The Good News is that when you accepted Jesus as your Savior, he gave you the power over sin! God gives us the victory through Jesus. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power…!²

When we go to God for help and ask Him to be our strength, we can —through Him— conquer any sinful mountain that looms over us. We can be victorious over anything that might be dragging us down. When we are faced with mountains too big to climb on our own, God comes alongside us and lightens our load. Jesus took on the biggest mountain of all —the sin of all mankind— and emerged victorious! Let Him have control of your engine and like that Little Engine you too will be saying “I thought I could…I thought I could…I thought I could”!

 

Jesus Commands: Worship Me

Who or what do you worship?

Yourself?

The idea of having a perfect partner?

Money?

Success?

Power?

Happiness?

Jesus commands us to worship only God:

Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” (Luke 4:8)

As John Piper puts it:

Everyone in the world worships something. From the most religious to the most secular, all people value something high enough to build their lives around it. It may be God, or it may be money. But what makes it worship is the driving power of some cherished treasure that shapes our emotions and will and thought and behavior. Into this universal experience of worship Jesus demanded, “Worship [God] in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). In other words, bring your experience of worship into conformity with what is true about God, and let your spirit be authentically awakened and moved by that truth . . . worship now happens through Jesus because he himself is God. He is not simply the mediator of worship between us and the Father; he is also the one to be worshiped.(What Jesus Demands from the World)

Why should we worship Jesus?

Continue: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock/2018/05/jesus-commands-worship-me/

Alone In The Quiet

by Dion Todd

Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 WEB

We can become so withdrawn sometimes that we begin to feel that it is us against the world. That no one cares or even notices what we are going through, and struggling with. Even in the middle of a crowd, we can feel alone and all the while, God seems silent.

The rest is at: http://www.refreshinghope.org/blogs/1/1565

Developing a Healthy Self-Concept, Part I

http://www.actsweb.org/daily.php?id=886

How Can I Delight in God’s Word?​

by Casey Lewis February 9, 2017

As Christians, we are supposed to delight in the Bible. What I mean is, reading the Bible should produce a sense of pleasure and joy in us –  our delight should draw us into the text.

For some of you, however, that may not be the case right now. You may not delight in it. And because you don’t delight in the Bible, you don’t read it. Maybe you feel bad about not reading it. Maybe you want to get to a place where you delight in it, you just don’t know how to make the switch. You might be asking: How can the Bible become something in which I delight?

How can the Bible become something in which I delight?

(1) Pray and ask God to help you delight in His Word.

One of the first things you should do when you sense your delight slipping is pray. Prayer is powerful. It has the ability to change our heart.

For most of us, we know this is true. We spend time praying for people’s salvation, their broken families, and this broken world. We spend the time doing those things because we know prayer changes things. If we know that, why not pray for our own heart, that God would change it so that we delight in His Word?

(2) Read it anyway. 

Continue: http://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/how-can-i-delight-in-gods-word

6 Big Reasons You Fail at Quiet Times

~by Rachel Dawson

We as Christians know the power and importance of spending time reading Scripture and praying. We know it’s essential to our lives of faith to spend time with the Lord… but it can be so hard. We call this time of Bible study a “quiet time” and for many, the time also includes journaling, prayer, or other kinds of solitary worship. Many of us have struggled to put consistent quiet time practices into place in our lives, and we might not ever have seriously considered why that is.

“Have a quiet time” seems like an easy thing to add to our to-do lists, but why isn’t it as easy to actually do it?

Here are a few common obstacles when it comes to our quiet times, and a few words of wisdom as well:

1. Not having enough structure. If your only plan is to let your Bible fall open before you, it can be hard to feel engaged in your quiet times. Jumping into quiet times without any plan of action is a great way to lose motivation quickly, especially since there aren’t any measurable steps of progress being taken. Time can quickly slip away from you if you aren’t prepared to meaningfully dive into your quiet time with enough of a plan in place. Instead, try starting with a reading plan that gives you a designated passage of Scripture (or several) to read each day. Even if you read more than what’s assigned for each day, you’ll have a roadmap before you that will help keep you engaged with the storylines in the Bible.
2. Having too much structure. I often sit down with my study Bible, another favorite Bible translation, my normal journal, my prayer journal, and a devotional book, thinking I’ll be able to read, compare, study, question, process, write, pray, and hear from the Lord all in a small chunk of time. It’s unrealistic that I’ll be able to accomplish so much in my quiet time, and it’s easy to get discouraged and give up entirely when you’re trying to cram too much in. Instead, focus on just one or two elements to include in your quiet time, such as reading the assigned passages of your reading plan and then journaling some thoughts or prayers. As you build the habit of daily quiet times, you can add more components to your study, but don’t overwhelm yourself at first by trying to do too much.
3. Fighting your natural rhythms. If you aren’t a morning person, trying to force having your quiet time in the morning might not be the best idea. If you always fall asleep when you read, trying to read your Bible before bed probably isn’t going to work out well. You might have to make some adjustments to be intentional about your quiet time, but you should work within your nature instead of against it. Start small (like waking up just twenty minutes earlier than usual, or winding down earlier before bed) but don’t try a complete habit overhaul and expect it to stick. If both mornings and evenings are challenging times for you, consider another chunk of time (such as a lunch break or during your child’s nap time) that will work well with your schedule.
4. Not eliminating distractions. If you’re trying to have a quiet time while also having your phone dinging nearby, or your TV on in the next room, or your children playing at your feet, you’re setting yourself up for failure. James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” We need to wash our hands of all distractions and purify our hearts before him to truly be able to engage with Scripture well. Turn your phone on off (or on silent) and leave it out of arm’s reach, go somewhere you can be alone, turn off all electronics or noise-making devices around you, and straighten up the area so messes or things nearby don’t steal your attention.
5. Not knowing your purpose. If you are just flipping through random passages of the Bible every time you open it up without any real goals in mind, you’re unlikely to feel productive and purposeful. Even if your purpose is just to read one chapter or one book of the Psalms, starting with a manageable goal helps you stay focused and on track. Try writing down your goals, communicating them with a trusted friend, or even keeping a running checklist of your progress in your Bible reading to help yourself stay accountable.
6. Being too ambitious. I’ve heard of friends who are trying to read through their entire Bible in just a few months, and they almost always burn out quickly. Trying to cram too much reading into each day can be overwhelming and damaging for our long-term Bible reading habits. Instead, break your quiet times into smaller chunks that you know you can accomplish in the amount of time you have, and you’re more likely to continue with more consistency. Starting with a certain length of time in mind (like twenty minutes a day) or a book of the Bible you want to read in its entirety will give you measurable ways to stay committed and moving forward.

As you set time aside to be with the Lord, be mindful of your practices and attentive to what works well for you and creates space for you to engage with God in meaningful ways. Have a plan in place (such as one of the many different reading plans found here!) and remove all distractions so you can enter into your quiet time with a ready heart.

 

http://www.crosswalk.com/sponsored-content/liberty-university/6-big-reasons-you-fail-at-quiet-times.html

You are; The Christ of God. Luke 9:20; John 20:31; Matthew 16:16

https://mrmatthewhenry.com/2016/12/11/you-are-the-christ-of-god-luke-920-john-2031-matthew-1616-2/

Are You Barren?

~ Experiencing worship

I have spent years in the traditional church as a Christian as well as part of the church staff. Because of my background, I had a lack of understanding when it came to this thing called worship. To me it was the song service that we would perfect from week to week, followed by a sermon, and topped of with an invitation. It didn’t vary much from week to week and I found myself grading the service on how much I got out of it. If the music was good then it was a good service. If the sermon and music were good it was a great service. How well it moved me and what I got out of it were the determining factors on how I graded each service.

I had a few friends who were from a charismatic background, and their church was very different than mine. The times when I would go and visit, I found myself chuckling because these people would be dancing, raising their hands, swaying back and forth, and seemed to be extremely into what was going on. For years I found things to say in defense of my ignorance about Charismatics. You see them on television and wonder why they have to get all excited about church. Why do they put on a show to see who can out do each other in their singing and participation? What was wrong with these people? Where is the reverence? Where is the self control? Surely what they where doing was not right! I was embarrassed to be associated with them. I didn’t want the world to put us and them in the same boat. I didn’t want to be associated with those fanatical Christians. Pretty narrow-minded, wasn’t I?

Read the rest of the blog: http://www.experiencingworship.com/worship-articles/general/2001-6-Are-You-Barren.html

Believe and not embarrassed

Concert first?