Hiya! I haven't posted in a long time due to the fact that....................I actually forgot my Blog Account PASSWORD and I finally remembered it! So, I shall leave you with a few of my favorite quotes:
"It's not that I'm a crazy winner, or trying to be above everyone else...I'm in it for the challenge that needs to be shattered."
"I DON'T want them to see me. I want them to see HIM in me. That's all that needs to be seen."
"There's nothing like committing to our God and his People."
"The Servant Of All...It's WHO I am."
"Evil is the only thing in the world that can and will break."
"Who cannot live without sleep? The wicked."....................................................................................................."I NEED SLEEP!"
"I absolutely REFUSE to be responsible for those who even THINK of touching my friends...so back off."
"Forget it, I'll grab the chainsaw."
"For every problem there is a solution...the problem is finding it."
"A Man who loves his job is never really working...He's just being paid for having fun." Rick Fisher, a friend from LDB.
"Humility, rightly understood, shouldn't be a fabric softener on our Aspirations. True humility does not kill our dreams; it provides a guard-rail for them." - Dave Harvey
"One way to clarify your spirituality is to clarify your ambition." Donald Whitney
That's all I have for now, my friends.
(BLS is now offline)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
RESURGENCE
This past weekend was awesome. "Past" being Oct. 7-10. This weekend was as close to being perfect as ever: Our church went to a camp-ground in the 'woods' of FL...not really woods, but give poor Floridians a break (It is true that they are missing out). My family bunked in a lodge with two other families. So I pretty much spent twenty four hours a day with my group of best friends: My two sisters, Breanna Wells and Ashley Beloat, who are like sisters to me. Noah, Breanna's younger brother, was with us too. Unfortunately their older brother couldn't make it (Due to work. Yay for work, blech for taking him away lol).
To add to this, our church also had a couple services on the campus with worship and sermons. The messages were based on Heaven. I had the closest picture of Heaven in my life. So, then with Friday we worked on getting settled in, had a service in the evening. Sat. morning was...completely different. All of us went to an outdoor lakeside chapel, where we sung hymnals, just like churches of the ancient day would have done.
Saturday...after the morning service, it began to get a little weird. Our homegroups competed against each other in several games. The ending game was between Four Twelve and Thrive: Our middle school + high school group against our singles. The game was to eat all of the contents of a bag: Full of disgusting foods, such as sardines, pickeled beats, chewy candy bars (Some said it was disgusting, others liked it), and I had to drink a full tin dressing thing of Ranch. I love Ranch. But...that was just to much. So, when I was back and saw ranch dressing in my refrigerator, I almost threw up. Unfortunately, we foolishly decided to play on the tire swing...when me and Ashley and my sister got off of it, we had to lay down on the grass for a half-an-hour before trying to get back to our lodge. (So that we wouldn't look as if we had been drinking :D).
Then it became awesome. Later that night, we had HUMAN FOOSBALL. I'm serious. It was a large enclosed box with a net surrounding it. Poles attached the right side to the left. Slider plastic bars were attached to the poles, with ropes for someone to hold onto. That was utterly awesome. But what was magnificent came next: At the end of the game, we still had an hour and a half till Curfew (11:00 P.M.). So, we went down to a field by the lake. We were stargazing when fireflies started coming out! I had two crawling on me at the same time. It was also fun to lay in the wet grass.
Ya happy I posted? I think the last post was a month ago. =O
To add to this, our church also had a couple services on the campus with worship and sermons. The messages were based on Heaven. I had the closest picture of Heaven in my life. So, then with Friday we worked on getting settled in, had a service in the evening. Sat. morning was...completely different. All of us went to an outdoor lakeside chapel, where we sung hymnals, just like churches of the ancient day would have done.
Saturday...after the morning service, it began to get a little weird. Our homegroups competed against each other in several games. The ending game was between Four Twelve and Thrive: Our middle school + high school group against our singles. The game was to eat all of the contents of a bag: Full of disgusting foods, such as sardines, pickeled beats, chewy candy bars (Some said it was disgusting, others liked it), and I had to drink a full tin dressing thing of Ranch. I love Ranch. But...that was just to much. So, when I was back and saw ranch dressing in my refrigerator, I almost threw up. Unfortunately, we foolishly decided to play on the tire swing...when me and Ashley and my sister got off of it, we had to lay down on the grass for a half-an-hour before trying to get back to our lodge. (So that we wouldn't look as if we had been drinking :D).
Then it became awesome. Later that night, we had HUMAN FOOSBALL. I'm serious. It was a large enclosed box with a net surrounding it. Poles attached the right side to the left. Slider plastic bars were attached to the poles, with ropes for someone to hold onto. That was utterly awesome. But what was magnificent came next: At the end of the game, we still had an hour and a half till Curfew (11:00 P.M.). So, we went down to a field by the lake. We were stargazing when fireflies started coming out! I had two crawling on me at the same time. It was also fun to lay in the wet grass.
Ya happy I posted? I think the last post was a month ago. =O
Sunday, September 5, 2010
How Do We Know?! 1 John 2:3-11
The Question: How is it that a person comes to know that she or he really knows the Living God?
I. If We Know God, We Will Keep His Commands 1 John 2:3
Not necessarily the ten commandments, keep in mind. John is also NOT asking the question: "How do we come to know God?" Note, that's not the question. The question is the first sentence. It's a very strong question. How much do you ask it about yourself? I know I ask that question a lot. I even sometimes doubt that everything is okay. I forget the full strength of the Gospel and end up freaking out. John is giving us a test that will help us to be certain that we know the Living God. Keep in mind that no matter what, we will NEVER be perfect in anything we do.
Verse 4 reads out: " 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Whoa...doesn't that sound harsh? No. Like I said earlier, none of us will do anything perfectly. Verse 5 helps clear things out a little: "But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected." When John says perfected, he is not meaning that WE are perfected. So the question to answer the main one is this: Is the Final Authority In Your Life the Word of God and God himself? In other words, if you really know God, you'll love and look forward to reading his Word, the Holy Bible. You'll pay very close attention to it. You will love learning from Jesus' words and teachings.
II. If We Know God, We Will Emulate Jesus' Life Of Obedience. 1 John 2:6
Like I said earlier, don't freak out if you aren't able to be like Jesus perfectly. Listen closely to these couple sentences: None of us, not ONE will be able to do it perfectly. After all, if we can do it perfectly, then what use is Christ? He came to die and save SINNERS, NOT PERFECTIONISTS. My Pastor today told a story that went like this:
A man had finished carving a lion out of wood. Someone asked him, "How did you do that?" The man answered simply, "Quite easily. I just chipped away everything that wasn't lion."
Honestly, I can't understand one word of that. Can you? At least I admitted it. The point of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is like the man. He's chipping away everything that isn't like Christ. It takes time. When we die, we'll go to heaven and become most like him as could be. I'm not sure if we'll exactly be like him equally...but that's not the point of the matter at hand. John is mainly pointing out these things so that the church would be able to see false teachers that surrounded it at the time. An easy way to describe that: If we say "It doesn't matter how we live, Grace is upon us", We don't understand Grace. It does matter how we live our lives. John has already stated it in verse 4.
III. If We Know God, We Will Love. 1 John 2:7
If anything, I think that this is probably the most troublesome for me: I don't really get along with people. The point is not even to get along. It's to LOVE. Now that's definitely something I need to work on. When John says that the command to love is an old one, boy it is. It was there for centuries. Mostly from the entire beginning. If you know God, then you'll love your brother and sister. If I love my God, I'll love MY brother and sister. My friends, this does not mean just siblings described here. (Even though that may be the hardest to do. :D) It also implies friends and other people. I think mainly Christians, but we should love others enough to proclaim the good news to them.
IV. Thoughts and Conclusion.
So, do you desire to obey God's Commands? Do you run to the Word for God's perspective on things? Do you read the Bible to just read? I think we should be doing all three. I would refrain from thinking this way as I was doing earlier this morning at the Sermon: Just read the bible so that it will show that we know God.
Oh brother, I just brought up another problem, didn't I? Oops. Here's my answer to that problem: Yes, do read the bible. Have a happy attitude about it though. Each time before you read, I'd suggest maybe asking God to let your heart be attentive to His word, and help you gain something from it. You can try to force the Bible into your day though. It is something that we all need. I've actually come to find that I gain a lot, and it just makes me even feel better when I read, and try to figure things out.
Other things I have noticed: Life without God and the Bible is practically impossible. Living alone without them, even without people (Even though it seems to be relaxing) is useless. To me anyway. You may have other thoughts. What are the things stopping you from reading the bible? Laziness, perhaps? Work or school? Different activities, maybe? I am wondering how much time we spend sitting and doing nothing instead of reading the bible. Are some of these activities even useful to us? Fitness, looks, making yourself look better and higher? These to me seem like quite a wasteful spent life. What's better? Earthly riches, power and reputation, or being as Christ-like as possible, and eternity with God?
I am most likely a hypocrite. It's something I am trying to fight in myself. I will say this again in a better way from my mind: Every aspect of things on this Earth is useless and frail compared to clinging to Jesus. Think about it.
BLS
I. If We Know God, We Will Keep His Commands 1 John 2:3
Not necessarily the ten commandments, keep in mind. John is also NOT asking the question: "How do we come to know God?" Note, that's not the question. The question is the first sentence. It's a very strong question. How much do you ask it about yourself? I know I ask that question a lot. I even sometimes doubt that everything is okay. I forget the full strength of the Gospel and end up freaking out. John is giving us a test that will help us to be certain that we know the Living God. Keep in mind that no matter what, we will NEVER be perfect in anything we do.
Verse 4 reads out: " 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Whoa...doesn't that sound harsh? No. Like I said earlier, none of us will do anything perfectly. Verse 5 helps clear things out a little: "But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected." When John says perfected, he is not meaning that WE are perfected. So the question to answer the main one is this: Is the Final Authority In Your Life the Word of God and God himself? In other words, if you really know God, you'll love and look forward to reading his Word, the Holy Bible. You'll pay very close attention to it. You will love learning from Jesus' words and teachings.
II. If We Know God, We Will Emulate Jesus' Life Of Obedience. 1 John 2:6
Like I said earlier, don't freak out if you aren't able to be like Jesus perfectly. Listen closely to these couple sentences: None of us, not ONE will be able to do it perfectly. After all, if we can do it perfectly, then what use is Christ? He came to die and save SINNERS, NOT PERFECTIONISTS. My Pastor today told a story that went like this:
A man had finished carving a lion out of wood. Someone asked him, "How did you do that?" The man answered simply, "Quite easily. I just chipped away everything that wasn't lion."
Honestly, I can't understand one word of that. Can you? At least I admitted it. The point of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is like the man. He's chipping away everything that isn't like Christ. It takes time. When we die, we'll go to heaven and become most like him as could be. I'm not sure if we'll exactly be like him equally...but that's not the point of the matter at hand. John is mainly pointing out these things so that the church would be able to see false teachers that surrounded it at the time. An easy way to describe that: If we say "It doesn't matter how we live, Grace is upon us", We don't understand Grace. It does matter how we live our lives. John has already stated it in verse 4.
III. If We Know God, We Will Love. 1 John 2:7
If anything, I think that this is probably the most troublesome for me: I don't really get along with people. The point is not even to get along. It's to LOVE. Now that's definitely something I need to work on. When John says that the command to love is an old one, boy it is. It was there for centuries. Mostly from the entire beginning. If you know God, then you'll love your brother and sister. If I love my God, I'll love MY brother and sister. My friends, this does not mean just siblings described here. (Even though that may be the hardest to do. :D) It also implies friends and other people. I think mainly Christians, but we should love others enough to proclaim the good news to them.
IV. Thoughts and Conclusion.
So, do you desire to obey God's Commands? Do you run to the Word for God's perspective on things? Do you read the Bible to just read? I think we should be doing all three. I would refrain from thinking this way as I was doing earlier this morning at the Sermon: Just read the bible so that it will show that we know God.
Oh brother, I just brought up another problem, didn't I? Oops. Here's my answer to that problem: Yes, do read the bible. Have a happy attitude about it though. Each time before you read, I'd suggest maybe asking God to let your heart be attentive to His word, and help you gain something from it. You can try to force the Bible into your day though. It is something that we all need. I've actually come to find that I gain a lot, and it just makes me even feel better when I read, and try to figure things out.
Other things I have noticed: Life without God and the Bible is practically impossible. Living alone without them, even without people (Even though it seems to be relaxing) is useless. To me anyway. You may have other thoughts. What are the things stopping you from reading the bible? Laziness, perhaps? Work or school? Different activities, maybe? I am wondering how much time we spend sitting and doing nothing instead of reading the bible. Are some of these activities even useful to us? Fitness, looks, making yourself look better and higher? These to me seem like quite a wasteful spent life. What's better? Earthly riches, power and reputation, or being as Christ-like as possible, and eternity with God?
I am most likely a hypocrite. It's something I am trying to fight in myself. I will say this again in a better way from my mind: Every aspect of things on this Earth is useless and frail compared to clinging to Jesus. Think about it.
BLS
Monday, June 7, 2010
God Meets You Where You Are: Fear
Sorry for the extremely long period with no posts. MUST try to do better. Anyhows, this is coming from Psalm 56. So, you'll need your bibles for this one (I'm not going to put a whole psalm up here). Read Psalm 56 before you read further (Please).
I. What Happens When I Am Afraid? Psalm 56:3
Fear is recurring everywhere: People, animals, (Obviously not things) all around the world. It is phenomenally universal. So...Why do we commonly fear things? How do we know we fear something when it's not obvious?
It usually has to do with control. We are typically afraid of things that aren't under our control. It's human nature to desire to have control of things and situations, because it makes you feel so much better. We can also get angry at the things we fear. (Well, duh...I mean, we get mad when we have to do something we're afraid of, right? That shouldn't be to hard to figure out...)
David, the psalmist, is terrified. (Psalm 56:1, 1 Samuel 21:12-15, Psalm 56:5-6) More importantly, when we are afraid we put our trust in God. So: 1. When I am afraid I put my trust in God. 2. Our fear always involves trust. (Or a lack of trust, or trust in something useless [yourself for one {Yes I'm being mean now, but it's the truth! Me included!}])
II. So How Do We Deal With Fear? How Do We Become Unafraid?
You know, it's truly almost IMPOSSIBLE. (Unless you're the annoying [I'm not afraid of anything] {In my case, that doesn't apply to me for one reason: I have no clue. I call things as I see them}) However, looking to the Lord for dealing with fear is the best answer. No joke. None at all. On the other hand though, that doesn't mean that you won't have things that might scare you. If it's life threatening, (You DO NOT TEST THE LORD BY DOING THIS ON PURPOSE) and you believe your going to heaven because the Son Of God died for you, well your going to a better place anyways. That's my way of thinking. I hope it's yours as well. ;)
But, how do we (Our human sinful natures) try to do it? Usually, in the non-believers sense, they'll try to do one of these two things: 1. Avoidance. Just run from the fear all the time. 2. Trying to be self-confident and stand up to your fears. In my mind, choice 2 is a pretty good idea. But let God help you to be confident. Don't be confident in yourself (If something can go wrong, it will) but (With God all things are possible). No joke. God's proven that all throughout history in the bible. After all, what can man possibly do to you? Sure, they could kill you with a shotgun rifle. They could kill you with a knife. They can break all your limbs, but guess what? NONE of that matters! They won't decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell. They will never
ever be able to do that. God is the only one who decides where you will spend eternity: Whether it be Hell or Heaven. He's the one you should fear. However, because I'm a Christian, I believe and know that he will lead me to heaven. (Matthew 10:28) (That doesn't mean though that I can sin anyway, I will, but I won't do it willingly. I hope. I know you already know that. I've said it time and again on this blog. If you're new to me, well, then now you know. :)
"The more you focus on something, (Fear or anything else - put in by me) the more you'll see
problems with it," -Wayne Brooks. (My pastor)
III. How Do I Put My Trust In God?
Hmmm. Well, that's one heck of a question. You don't just do it once, after all. He said "When I am afraid I put my trust in God." That's literally what he means. The only other way I can think to put it: You want to grow in your trust in God? Well, by all means, grow in knowing God. :) Once you really know a lot about God by reading the Bible, and you have held a conversation with him, you should be able to fully put your trust in him.
IV. Why Overcome Fear?
Well, now that's another amazing question. You're pretty good at this. ;) My Pastor said this:
"The problem with fear is keeping us away from glorifying our Heavenly Father and Savior."
Truly, I had NEVER EVER thought of that before. I mean, now it totally makes sense. I can put this into reason now: We may be afraid to talk to people about our Heavenly Father and His Son who died for them. What happens if they want to kill me? Well, that is fear, and it gets in the way of us serving our Lord.
Any MORE amazing questions? Feel free to ask. I'll see if I can help you. ;)
BLS
I. What Happens When I Am Afraid? Psalm 56:3
Fear is recurring everywhere: People, animals, (Obviously not things) all around the world. It is phenomenally universal. So...Why do we commonly fear things? How do we know we fear something when it's not obvious?
It usually has to do with control. We are typically afraid of things that aren't under our control. It's human nature to desire to have control of things and situations, because it makes you feel so much better. We can also get angry at the things we fear. (Well, duh...I mean, we get mad when we have to do something we're afraid of, right? That shouldn't be to hard to figure out...)
David, the psalmist, is terrified. (Psalm 56:1, 1 Samuel 21:12-15, Psalm 56:5-6) More importantly, when we are afraid we put our trust in God. So: 1. When I am afraid I put my trust in God. 2. Our fear always involves trust. (Or a lack of trust, or trust in something useless [yourself for one {Yes I'm being mean now, but it's the truth! Me included!}])
II. So How Do We Deal With Fear? How Do We Become Unafraid?
You know, it's truly almost IMPOSSIBLE. (Unless you're the annoying [I'm not afraid of anything] {In my case, that doesn't apply to me for one reason: I have no clue. I call things as I see them}) However, looking to the Lord for dealing with fear is the best answer. No joke. None at all. On the other hand though, that doesn't mean that you won't have things that might scare you. If it's life threatening, (You DO NOT TEST THE LORD BY DOING THIS ON PURPOSE) and you believe your going to heaven because the Son Of God died for you, well your going to a better place anyways. That's my way of thinking. I hope it's yours as well. ;)
But, how do we (Our human sinful natures) try to do it? Usually, in the non-believers sense, they'll try to do one of these two things: 1. Avoidance. Just run from the fear all the time. 2. Trying to be self-confident and stand up to your fears. In my mind, choice 2 is a pretty good idea. But let God help you to be confident. Don't be confident in yourself (If something can go wrong, it will) but (With God all things are possible). No joke. God's proven that all throughout history in the bible. After all, what can man possibly do to you? Sure, they could kill you with a shotgun rifle. They could kill you with a knife. They can break all your limbs, but guess what? NONE of that matters! They won't decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell. They will never
ever be able to do that. God is the only one who decides where you will spend eternity: Whether it be Hell or Heaven. He's the one you should fear. However, because I'm a Christian, I believe and know that he will lead me to heaven. (Matthew 10:28) (That doesn't mean though that I can sin anyway, I will, but I won't do it willingly. I hope. I know you already know that. I've said it time and again on this blog. If you're new to me, well, then now you know. :)
"The more you focus on something, (Fear or anything else - put in by me) the more you'll see
problems with it," -Wayne Brooks. (My pastor)
III. How Do I Put My Trust In God?
Hmmm. Well, that's one heck of a question. You don't just do it once, after all. He said "When I am afraid I put my trust in God." That's literally what he means. The only other way I can think to put it: You want to grow in your trust in God? Well, by all means, grow in knowing God. :) Once you really know a lot about God by reading the Bible, and you have held a conversation with him, you should be able to fully put your trust in him.
IV. Why Overcome Fear?
Well, now that's another amazing question. You're pretty good at this. ;) My Pastor said this:
"The problem with fear is keeping us away from glorifying our Heavenly Father and Savior."
Truly, I had NEVER EVER thought of that before. I mean, now it totally makes sense. I can put this into reason now: We may be afraid to talk to people about our Heavenly Father and His Son who died for them. What happens if they want to kill me? Well, that is fear, and it gets in the way of us serving our Lord.
Any MORE amazing questions? Feel free to ask. I'll see if I can help you. ;)
BLS
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
...
Again, it's been like a month since i've posted. I THOUGHT I told myself to follow it up...and i haven't really been busy, but apparently my head doesn't get the memo. :) Anyhows, here 'tis:
Flesh Vs. Spirit
Gal. 5:22-24: "But the Fruit Of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
It is apparent that Paul teaches True Godliness shows and reflects and happens at the very core of our lives: How we Live and Think. True Spirituality is the result of the work of the Spirit. This isn't saying that even evil spirituality is work of the flesh; NO, True (RIGHTEOUS) Spirituality is of the Holy Spirit, but Evil Spirituality is work of the flesh.
I. Kind Of Fruit Produced By The Spirit.
Sorry, this...is a list, but I'll try to do my best at differentiating it. (And hopefully i don't fail miserably.)
A. Love - 1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." THAT IS, the GENUINE LOVE. NOT the word Love that the WORLD has defined. This love isn't really...true. True Love for someone is all for another's good, and it's selfless, even to the point of death. Now I'm pretty sure that the way the world has defined love is not like this. Second guess me if I'm wrong, but I don't think so. :)
B. Joy: Now, the true world does not know what this is. Yes, you can be joyful when good things are happening to you that is amazing. But TRUE JOY is ALWAYS in a Christian. Even when things are going bad. Huh? You might be thinking. Isn't that wrong to be joyful when everything seems to be going against you? Well let me answer that for you :) . Well, I don't think i put the question right. But the answer is no. We can be joyful even in hardships, because we know that we really do deserve to have it going against us. We will always sin, and fail; but Jesus Christ died for us...therefore, it doesn't matter if it's not all working out. We can be joyful in trials because we know that we're still going to be in Heaven, and God is doing this for the best. He always knows what he's doing. In pain, suffering, and affliction, this is all just to make us cry out for the Lord, knowing that he knows what he's doing, and this is all for our best. It truly is. Now, I'm not saying that it is bad to not be joyful in hard circumstances, it's easy to be depressed. But try to be joyful in that loving and gracious fact that is unbelievable.
C. Peace: Rom. 5:1: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Not divided or split up; but whole, secure and not worrying or anxious.
D. Patience: A calm willingness to endure irritating troubles. 1 Tim. 1:16: "But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." and Col. 3:12: "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." (Because of His Patience w/ us, we can be [and should be] patient w/ others. Not just do these, but in light of that Jesus Christ did all these things for us and to us, now we can do all of these for and to others. :)
E. Kindness: Because he was kind and caring to us to die for our sins, we can manifest this kindness to others, even though we didn't deserve his kindness, and they don't deserve our kindness.
F. Goodness: Same thing as above, but a sorta different category.
G. Faithfulness
H. Gentleness
I. Self Control
II. The Spirit Does What The Law Cannot Do.
Gal. 5:23.
The Law can't perform these acts. You can only become this way by asking and crying out to God for help. This is what the Holy Spirit is producing. :) The Law as given to only restrain evil, but these things and qualities do not need to be restrained. We will bear the fruit of the Spirit by availing ourselves of the means of Grace that God gives to us.
III. The Believer Must Turn From Works Of The Flesh To Fruit Of Spirit.
Gal. 5:24.
A. "Have Crucified.
B. Every Christian will make progress in their growth in the grace and in conformity to the image of Christ.
Sorry, the last part was excerpts on the note sheet. I did that because at that point in the sermon, my pen ran out of ink. haha. :)
B.L.S. out. :)
Flesh Vs. Spirit
Gal. 5:22-24: "But the Fruit Of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
It is apparent that Paul teaches True Godliness shows and reflects and happens at the very core of our lives: How we Live and Think. True Spirituality is the result of the work of the Spirit. This isn't saying that even evil spirituality is work of the flesh; NO, True (RIGHTEOUS) Spirituality is of the Holy Spirit, but Evil Spirituality is work of the flesh.
I. Kind Of Fruit Produced By The Spirit.
Sorry, this...is a list, but I'll try to do my best at differentiating it. (And hopefully i don't fail miserably.)
A. Love - 1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." THAT IS, the GENUINE LOVE. NOT the word Love that the WORLD has defined. This love isn't really...true. True Love for someone is all for another's good, and it's selfless, even to the point of death. Now I'm pretty sure that the way the world has defined love is not like this. Second guess me if I'm wrong, but I don't think so. :)
B. Joy: Now, the true world does not know what this is. Yes, you can be joyful when good things are happening to you that is amazing. But TRUE JOY is ALWAYS in a Christian. Even when things are going bad. Huh? You might be thinking. Isn't that wrong to be joyful when everything seems to be going against you? Well let me answer that for you :) . Well, I don't think i put the question right. But the answer is no. We can be joyful even in hardships, because we know that we really do deserve to have it going against us. We will always sin, and fail; but Jesus Christ died for us...therefore, it doesn't matter if it's not all working out. We can be joyful in trials because we know that we're still going to be in Heaven, and God is doing this for the best. He always knows what he's doing. In pain, suffering, and affliction, this is all just to make us cry out for the Lord, knowing that he knows what he's doing, and this is all for our best. It truly is. Now, I'm not saying that it is bad to not be joyful in hard circumstances, it's easy to be depressed. But try to be joyful in that loving and gracious fact that is unbelievable.
C. Peace: Rom. 5:1: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Not divided or split up; but whole, secure and not worrying or anxious.
D. Patience: A calm willingness to endure irritating troubles. 1 Tim. 1:16: "But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." and Col. 3:12: "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." (Because of His Patience w/ us, we can be [and should be] patient w/ others. Not just do these, but in light of that Jesus Christ did all these things for us and to us, now we can do all of these for and to others. :)
E. Kindness: Because he was kind and caring to us to die for our sins, we can manifest this kindness to others, even though we didn't deserve his kindness, and they don't deserve our kindness.
F. Goodness: Same thing as above, but a sorta different category.
G. Faithfulness
H. Gentleness
I. Self Control
II. The Spirit Does What The Law Cannot Do.
Gal. 5:23.
The Law can't perform these acts. You can only become this way by asking and crying out to God for help. This is what the Holy Spirit is producing. :) The Law as given to only restrain evil, but these things and qualities do not need to be restrained. We will bear the fruit of the Spirit by availing ourselves of the means of Grace that God gives to us.
III. The Believer Must Turn From Works Of The Flesh To Fruit Of Spirit.
Gal. 5:24.
A. "Have Crucified.
B. Every Christian will make progress in their growth in the grace and in conformity to the image of Christ.
Sorry, the last part was excerpts on the note sheet. I did that because at that point in the sermon, my pen ran out of ink. haha. :)
B.L.S. out. :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
It's been such a long time since i've posted
I'm gonna try and pick blogging back up. It's been since *last year* I've posted. For an important reason, Grace Church has been preaching on Legalism. I've known of this problem a long time. Little did I know that I had one HUGE problem with it...I am now aware of this huge road block in my life. It's truly always a problem, even when it's microscopic. David Traugott, one of our pastors, used a very descriptive example. He had a huge container full of water. He took some blue dye enough to fill half of a table spoon. As soon as it hit the water, no matter the size, it spread within seconds, and the white water was gone. Legalism can't be contained, at least without God's strong help. The Offense Of The Cross, as put into words, is against and offensive to our natural sinful selves. Examples of Legalism: Judgmentalness, (Yeah, didn't think that was a word, but i think you get the idea) arguing with someone, because it puts up your standard, and legalism is a standard. I just felt it necessary to warn. Don't try to be so judgmental. Now, if something is truly wrong with someone, don't do it in a judgmental way. I hope this helps,
B.L.S.
B.L.S.
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