When the night is dark
and the cold enters my soul.
Where can I go?
When the road ends
When I've lost my way.
Where can I go?
"There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them."
Acts 4:12
SO WHAT?
No matter where you are at in life right now, God is wanting to come and be a part of it. If your in a place where you are experiencing a rough time in your life, ask God to come into it. Jesus isn't like most friends. When everything is going bad and all your friends are not willing to help you out, Jesus wants to help you. Your life will never be so bad that Jesus won't want to come and be with you. No matter where what is going on in your life today... Right now ask Jesus to come and be a part of it.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Who Are You Pleasing?
Matthew 5:1-12
1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,
2 and he began to teach them. 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the rich for they will be famous. He doesn’t say blessed are the popular for they know how to act like the crowd. He says the opposite. He talks about being pure and merciful, about standing up for what is right and going against the crowd.
SO WHAT?
Today you can live for yourself and conform to the crowd, or you can be transformed and live out Matthew 5:1-12. One way pleases the world and the other way pleases Jesus. Who do you want to please today? How will you please them?
1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,
2 and he began to teach them. 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the rich for they will be famous. He doesn’t say blessed are the popular for they know how to act like the crowd. He says the opposite. He talks about being pure and merciful, about standing up for what is right and going against the crowd.
SO WHAT?
Today you can live for yourself and conform to the crowd, or you can be transformed and live out Matthew 5:1-12. One way pleases the world and the other way pleases Jesus. Who do you want to please today? How will you please them?
Monday, November 24, 2008
May You Play Your Part Well
We are now far into this Epic that every great story points to. We have reached the moment where we, too, must find our courage and rise up to recover our hearts and fight for the hearts of others. The hour is late, and much time has been wasted. Aslan is on the move; we must rally to him at the stone table. We must find Geppetto lost at sea. We must ride hard, ride to Minas Tirith and join the last great battle for Middle Earth.
Jesus calls to you to be his intimate ally once more. There are great things to be done and great sacrifices to be made. You won’t lose heart if you know what’s really going on here, where this Story is headed and what your father has promised to you.
It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name . . . That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still. (Telling the Truth)
This is the gospel.
This is the Story we are living in.
May you play your part well.
John Eldredge
(Epic, 103, 104)
So What?
How would you live if you believed this to be true?
Jesus calls to you to be his intimate ally once more. There are great things to be done and great sacrifices to be made. You won’t lose heart if you know what’s really going on here, where this Story is headed and what your father has promised to you.
It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name . . . That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still. (Telling the Truth)
This is the gospel.
This is the Story we are living in.
May you play your part well.
John Eldredge
(Epic, 103, 104)
So What?
How would you live if you believed this to be true?
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