"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."
Mark 9:38-50
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Fear and Dread
The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.
Genesis 9:2
God put fear into animals, when he was talking to Noah, that is what he said. That implies fear wasn't there before. That means that animals did not fear humans before the flood, if you go back and read the curse that God put on Adam and Eve, it talks nothing of animals dreading and fearing humans.
God cursed humans then, and I think the fear he gave them is for their own good. God also talked about them eating animals.
All that I'm stating is MY opinion. If you have a different idea about what this means, then tell me by commenting.
I think this verse is talking about God striking fear into animals, but most people I've talked to and most think that animals started fearing people soon after the fall. Sure God killed a lamb right after Adam and eve sinned, but it never says anything about animals having fear until now, people just assume, I assumed that too, but is animals were already fearful, what could this mean?
Noah did pack up two of every animal in a huge ark and ride out a flood before this. Another option is that God was saying "I made it so that all these animals wouldn't fear you, but now they will be fearful AGAIN." This option means that animal were fearful before and God took that fear away only for the ark and God was tell Noah it wouldn't stay like that.
What do you think? I have a poll set up above this post so that you can vote for what you think, I want to hear you opinion, also please comment. This is an interesting verse that can bring lots of discussion.
Genesis 9:2
God put fear into animals, when he was talking to Noah, that is what he said. That implies fear wasn't there before. That means that animals did not fear humans before the flood, if you go back and read the curse that God put on Adam and Eve, it talks nothing of animals dreading and fearing humans.
God cursed humans then, and I think the fear he gave them is for their own good. God also talked about them eating animals.
All that I'm stating is MY opinion. If you have a different idea about what this means, then tell me by commenting.
I think this verse is talking about God striking fear into animals, but most people I've talked to and most think that animals started fearing people soon after the fall. Sure God killed a lamb right after Adam and eve sinned, but it never says anything about animals having fear until now, people just assume, I assumed that too, but is animals were already fearful, what could this mean?
Noah did pack up two of every animal in a huge ark and ride out a flood before this. Another option is that God was saying "I made it so that all these animals wouldn't fear you, but now they will be fearful AGAIN." This option means that animal were fearful before and God took that fear away only for the ark and God was tell Noah it wouldn't stay like that.
What do you think? I have a poll set up above this post so that you can vote for what you think, I want to hear you opinion, also please comment. This is an interesting verse that can bring lots of discussion.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Psalm 91
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Psalm 91
I've said before that christians lives are not going to be easy. You see, God implies that there will be difficult times, as he says, "I will be with him in trouble..." So there are times or trouble. It's easy to overlook those words and just think that life will be perfect. YES no harm or disaster will come near, YES you have an angel protecting you, but there WILL be trouble in your life.
My dictionary defines disaster as evilness or wrong doing. Ir's easy to take this psalm and say it's contradicting, but it's not. If disaster is something evil, God will not let evil be near you if you love God. But there will be trouble.
There's another part of this chapter to take into consideration.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
What does God consider wicked? Sin? If you sin God will punish you. If you sin, I THINK God considers you wicked, but I KNOW God will forgive you. SOME trails you might be going through are punishment, but NOT ALL! Some are troubles.
I will deliver him and honor him.
DELIVER being the key word. In this case, delivering is rescuing, to release or save. If God is to deliver you, there has to be a problem.
So throughout this chapter, there are clues that the christian life will be hard, but God will be there. God will save you.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday...For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Theses verse are the most miss leading. They can lead people to think that this chapter is contradicting. "You will not FEAR the terror of night..."
You will not be afraid of terror, but there is terror. You will not FEAR the arrow, or the pestilence, or the plague. But it's there. You see God makes us courageous though we will not FEAR all these bad things, they will be there. If you " will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."" Then God will PROTECT you "his faithfulness will be your shield" and you will not fear.
no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
My dictionary also says disaster is misfortune, or bad luck. If God is testing you, is that bad luck? No! God is TEACHING you something. That is not bad luck! Disaster and hardships are different. VERY different! I already said harm is something evil or wrong. So have faith! God's faithfulness is what shields you from harm. Have faith that faithfulness will protect you! And don't let this Psalm fool you! God IS with you. God DOES shield you. God DOES deliver you when you pray. (He will call upon me, and I will answer him...)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Slaves to Sin
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."
If sin is still your master, I hope you'll let God take you, because he's already paid for your freedom, whether you take it or not, but this is a warning to you who have had your chains taken off. If your are gone, then you must strive to keep then off. Sin will take you back and put you back in chains. If your free, you can choose if you'll let sin enslave you once again. If you're a slave, you can get freedom. My goal is for everyone to have their chains broken by God because when Jesus gave his final breath on the cross where he died, he battle Satan and made it possible for your chains to be broken, but you choose if they are.
They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."
Sin keeps us locked up. Sin our is master, but we a have a choice on who our owner is. God has already payed sin and he can take you away from sin, but he will not take you by force. You can choose who your master is and if you trust Jesus, then he'll break your chains and take you away from you master, sin. He'll give you freedom.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day Special Part 2
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthian 13:4-8
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Songs of Songs 8:6
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
1 John 3:16
Happy Valentines day!
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthian 13:4-8
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Songs of Songs 8:6
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
1 John 3:16
Happy Valentines day!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Valentine's Day Special Part 1
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I sure this probably is what you think about when you think of valentines day. Most of you are thinking of giving people hearts and telling them you love them. Where does God come in?
GOD IS LOVE!!!
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:10
We love BECAUSE God loved us. We live BECAUSE Christ saved us.
So we should love God. Some people make valentines and give them to friends, well make yourself a valentine for God. God's got a place in valentines day because God set the example of love.
And what about these verses?
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16
Like I said before.
GOD IS LOVE!!!
If God is love, then God must know a whole lot about love. And God wants a whole lot of people to love him, not just on valentines day. Valentines day is just one of 365 days that God wants love on. Today is just the awareness day. Love God all day, but today I am just telling you that God wants your love.
God gave you love and God wants you to give some of it back. God wants you to give some love to people, but save some for God!
There's a whole different post for what love is. I'll get that one out there soon, but if you want a preview for my "Valentine's Day Special Part 2" post, then read 1 Corinthians 13.
God is love, and love has come for us.
I wrote this whole thing to tell you should love God. Give God a valentine and you can give people valentines too, but be SURE to give God one.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:7-19
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I sure this probably is what you think about when you think of valentines day. Most of you are thinking of giving people hearts and telling them you love them. Where does God come in?
GOD IS LOVE!!!
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:10
We love BECAUSE God loved us. We live BECAUSE Christ saved us.
So we should love God. Some people make valentines and give them to friends, well make yourself a valentine for God. God's got a place in valentines day because God set the example of love.
And what about these verses?
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16
Like I said before.
GOD IS LOVE!!!
If God is love, then God must know a whole lot about love. And God wants a whole lot of people to love him, not just on valentines day. Valentines day is just one of 365 days that God wants love on. Today is just the awareness day. Love God all day, but today I am just telling you that God wants your love.
God gave you love and God wants you to give some of it back. God wants you to give some love to people, but save some for God!
There's a whole different post for what love is. I'll get that one out there soon, but if you want a preview for my "Valentine's Day Special Part 2" post, then read 1 Corinthians 13.
God is love, and love has come for us.
I wrote this whole thing to tell you should love God. Give God a valentine and you can give people valentines too, but be SURE to give God one.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:7-19
Friday, February 10, 2012
The Road you're Driving on
Are you at one of life's potholes?
...Or a bump in the road. If your on a hill, there's always an easy way down, but God wants us to take the hard way. I find it rare when The road is smooth. When it's easy.
The road is hardly ever pretty and when it's there, it doesn't last for long.
No matter were you are right now, God will help you get through.
The reason we hardly get smooth roads is because that the only place we feel we need God. God wants us to rely on him, and it hard to do that if we think we've got what it takes. If your at a smooth place in life, be warned, that's when it's easiest to fall away from him. If your at a bump, or a pot hole, Satan will try to tell God's abandoned you, but I think it's easier to trust in God, because you can't see where the road is heading, but God is your GPS and he will tell you the right way to go, and if you trust in him, he might just let you have a clear picture and or a straight path, but whatever happens, just be faithful because God is in charge. God believes in you, he won't put you where you are right now unless he knew you can handle it.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
Hebrews 4:10 (NIV)
Jesus has been where you are. He was human, he walked this earth. He felt pain and endured suffering. But he didn't sin. The fact that your not God means that your not perfect, but you must strive to be. God forgives you, but he wants you to do what's right.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.
Nahum 1:3 (NIV)
He almighty and he will do what he wants.
Love is painful. If you love God, you have to strive to please him, you must be selfless and get to know God. You spend time with him and learn his ways...because you love him.
Love calls calls you to do things you don't want to do. It calls you to step out of your comfort zone and serve. If you love God, you should strive to serve him. If you truly love God, you should WANT to do this.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Love V.S. Wrath episode 7
Danny: Hey everybody!
Ruth: What's up everybody? Today we have a person who has called in and requested to be on this show. We have an unexpected listeners special.
Carry: Hello. I've called in from Wellton Arizona.
Ruth: I hear you have something to say.
Carry: I was reading the book of James and I came across this verse: And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Sandra: Welcome Carry. Where did you find this verse?
Carry: James 5:15
Sandra: Thank you for that.
Carry: and also.
Samuel: Hold it! There are always two guest people on the show. I'm Samuel and I have a verse in Nahum that I always keep in mind, from Nahum 1:2 and also verse 6.
Carry: I was in the middle of...
Sandra: Will you share that with us Samuel?
Samuel: I'd be glad to. The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
Carry: I wanted to talk about Zephaniah 1:17-18
Sandra: No!!! Only one wrath verse!!!
Carry: I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.
Sandra: NO!!! this was a terrible idea!!! the callers have ruined everything!
Ruth: Calm down Sandra. Those were two great verses about God's wrath.
Sandra: I quit! This better be the lastv TV show you ever host Ruth!
Ruth: My sister can take your place.
Sandra: I'm glad you've already replaced me.
Ruth: Sandra!
Danny: Well that's all folks
Photo credit: http://stelizabethcc.blogspot.com/2012/10/you-do-not-know-what-you-are-asking.html
