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Life is?? #240 Double mindedness 6 y
** MATTHEW 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
MATTHEW 6:22-24
Jesus is speaking of spiritual vision. If we keep our attention (eye) single upon Jesus, the Word, then all that we will be filled with is the light of His Word (Jn. 1:1-14; Ps. 119:105). The key to victory is this singleness of purpose (Phil. 3:13). The strength of the laser lies in the fact that all of the light is concentrated on one single point. Likewise, the strength of the Christian lies in how single his or her vision is upon Jesus, "the author and finisher of our faith." (Heb. 12:1-3)
You may have God and riches, but you can only serve one of them. In Matthew 6:24, the Lord amplifies this by saying that we cannot serve two masters. Why is this so? Because we do not have the capability of faithfully serving both of them. You will cleave to one more than the other. You cannot serve both with all of your heart. We just don't have the capacity to do our best in two areas at the same time. God wants singleness of vision, singleness of purpose. He wants us to serve Him ...
MATTHEW 6:24, ”No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
MATTHEW 6:22-24
Jesus is speaking of spiritual vision. If we keep our attention (eye) single upon Jesus, the Word, then all that we will be filled with is the light of His Word (Jn. 1:1-14; Ps. 119:105).
The key to victory is this singleness of purpose
(Phil. 3:13). The strength of the laser lies in the fact that all of the light is concentrated on one single point.
Likewise, the strength ... read more Life is?? #239 The love of things 6 y
** A key to success in the Kingdom of God is singleness of purpose. **
Matthew 6:21, ”For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
MATTHEW 6:19-21
If isolated from the rest of God’s Word, there are some scriptures that could be interpreted to mean that having money or wealth is wrong.
However there are other scriptures that speak of riches as a blessing. The harmony between these two apparently opposite positions is that money is neither good nor bad.
It is the love of money that is the root of all evil, and many have committed the sin of loving money who don’t even have a dime (1 Tim. 6:10)!
The love of things (covetousness ... read more Life is?? #238 Technology or real life? 6 y
** Growing stronger in our faith is not complicated. Look to God’s promise and glorify him. **
“I Stand in Awe”
BibleStudyTools.com Home
How to Grow Strong in Your Faith
Mark Altrogge
In Romans 4, Paul tells us Abraham “grew strong in his faith” and urges us to walk in Abraham’s footsteps. To believe like he believed. How do we do this?
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him ... read more Life is?? #237 Technology or self? 6 y
** Here are a few characteristics of a “Facebook culture” that we certainly need to reckon with as believers: **
BibleStudyTools.com Home
5 Warning Signs for the Church in a “Facebook Culture”
Michael J. Kruger
One of my favorite childhood memories is watching the movie Star Wars in the theater in 1977.
I (along with an entire nation) was awestruck. Nothing like that had ever been done before. We were all sucked into a new world of spaceships, lightsabers, strange creatures, and distant galaxies. But of all the things that caught the attention of the average Star Wars viewer, no doubt the amazing technology of the future was near the top of the list.
What would it be like to have ... read more Life is?? # 236 Don't argue with a Fool! 6 y
** A prescriptive proverb does more than simply tell about the way life is. *8
This raises a larger issue about how to apply the various sayings found in the book of Proverbs.
One of two broad categories of proverbs is known as prescriptive proverbs
(the other is descriptive).
A prescriptive proverb does more than simply tell about the way life is.
It seeks to characterize an attitude or an action in order to influence behavior
(Klein, Blomberg, Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 313–14).
The focus of this post is to describe three types of prescriptive proverbs that will assist in applying them.
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1. A prescriptive proverb that al ... read more Life is?? # 235 The world Standard for the Absolute Truth! 6 y
** Everyone needs to know the TRUTH - Accepting salvation as a free gift—apart from any goodness on our own—is contrary to everything we’ve known.**
From post on AWMI.net
As I was thinking about Andrew’s teaching Grace: The Power of the Gospel, I remembered an old legend that I had heard years ago. It goes like this:
There once was a man who invented fire. One day, he found a village in a very cold and remote area. With his tools, he taught the villagers how to make fire.
The people were fascinated with this discovery. Now they could use the fire to cook hot meals and heat their homes. They were thankful for the new skill the man taught them. But one day, without much notice, the man left.
In his absence, the people made a port ... read more Life is?? #234 What or why do you do it? 6 y
** At times a godly anger is the set of our entire beings against evil. It is not motivated by selfishness and may be totally without any selfish design. Self-centeredness and Greed are the cause of most of the world's problems! **
Note on James 1:15
These verses are describing a process of sin. Sin doesn’t just jump on us. It doesn’t happen like a seizure.
We have to conceive it.
Most Christians don’t recognize sin as something that has to be conceived. Therefore, they do little or nothing about the conception and only try and stop the birth of sin.
That would be like a woman who doesn’t want children but consistently has physical relations with a man. Unless something is wrong with her, she will conceive. The only way to stop a birth after conception is an abortion.
In a sense, many Christians are tr ... read more Life is?? #233 Stuck in the mud of life? 6 y
** Wisdom, and Faith will lead you to a Grand Eternity! Try it out! **
A list to help you get out of the mud and mire:
1. Is there some unconfessed sin in my life that I need to deal with?
1 John 1:8–10
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. (NLT)
2. Is there some person I have offended or hurt, but I have not apologized to or sought forgiveness or restoration?
Matthe ... read more Life is?? # 232 How do you pray? Revised! 6 y
** Many people have little to no realization of The Lord God Almighty in their life! **
Who is God?
How do you approach HIM?
The following is from:
The Secret of Communion with God
How to Begin the Day, Spend the Day and End the Day with God
by
Matthew Henry
Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.
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Make a business of your secret worship, and be not slothful in this business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Take heed lest it degenerate into a formality, and you grow customary in your accustomed services. Go about the duty solemnly; be inward with God in it; it is not enough to say your prayers, but you must pray your prayers, must pray in pr ... read more French in the English language 6 y
** Most of the French vocabulary now appearing in English was imported over the centuries following the Norman Conquest in October 1066 when England came under the administration of Norman-French speaking peoples. **
Historical context
William the Conqueror invaded the island of Britain, distributing lands and property to the Normans. As a result, French became the language of culture and the administration.
The majority of the population of England continued to use their Anglo-Saxon language, but it was influenced by the language of the ruling elite, resulting in doublets.
Consider for example the words for the meats eaten by the Anglo-Norman nobility and the corresponding animals raised by the Anglo-Saxon peasants: beef / ox, mutton / sheep, veal / calf, pork / pig, or pairs of words perta ... read more Life is?? #231 The tongue is? 6 y
** When people are truly under God’s conviction, they recognize their relative unworthiness. Those who have never come to the end of themselves have never found the beginning of God. **
Psalms 39
** Note on Psalm 39 not all verses are addressed for more see AWMI.net
Psalms 39:1
Note on Psalms 39:1
As James explained in
James 3:8, we cannot tame our tongues on our own. We have to have the power of the Holy Spirit to bridle our tongues. This is what David was describing here.
He willed not to sin with his mouth. Psalms 39:2-3 describes the sorrow this caused.
Then, in Psalms 39:4 he called out to the Lord to show him his frailty. He wasn’t able to do it on his own. Neither are we.
Psalms 39:2
Note on Psalms 39:2
It is true that we often get hung by our own t ... read more Life is?? #230 Best laid plans go astray! 6 y
** " The best-laid plans of mice and men run astray! " **
While we seem to wander thru life - many things are present which create havoc and disarray in our lives.
The list contains: Vehicle deaths, ” so-called Drug use”, weapon (all types) deaths, medical deaths {which BTW: are over a 100.000 per year} just to mention a few. Many are the result of someone either not paying attention, or purposely pushing the envelope to get their self-centered way. Most of the world’s problems are Greed and Self-centeredness. Political, Religious or whatever!
Yet many people want the quick answer - make more laws. But there have been laws against murder, b ... read more Life is?? #229 How to use wisdom? 6 y
** Wisdom and knowledge are not separate things - they should be used to link the reason and purpose of people's lives. **
Psychologists have gathered data on commonly held beliefs or folk theories about wisdom.
These analyses indicate that although ”there is an overlap of the implicit theory of wisdom with intelligence, perceptiveness, spirituality and shrewdness, it is evident that wisdom is an expertise in dealing with difficult questions of life and adaptation to the complex requirements.”
Baltes et al. in 2002 through Wisdom: its structure and function in regulating lifespan successful development defined ”Wisdom is the ability to deal with the contradictions of a specific situation and to assess th ... read more Life is?? #228 What is Wisdom? 6 y
** So where does wisdom lead in human life? With the accumulation of knowledge, we can either use it to benefit for the general good or else cause much needless pain and suffering! **
Wisdom or sapience is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight.
There appears to be consensus that wisdom is associated with attributes such as compassion, experiential self-knowledge, non-attachment and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.
Wisdom has been defined in many different ways, a variety of measurement scales have been developed, and several subtypes of wisdom have been proposed.
Out of these, phronesis and sophia are two key subtypes of wisdom.
In the classical Greek tradition, there is a distinction bet ... read more Life is?? #227 God's Love is with us Always ... 6 y
** In the Palm of God **
Genvičv Martin Bernard
January 23 at 9:10pm · Beaverton, OR ·
In the Palm of God
When I was a little girl, I was sent to do my 1st communion pilgrimage in the Monastery of Notre Dame de Laghet. Nestled at the foot of the Mediterranean Alps, the ancient baroque convent dates back to 1652.
Shortly after check in, one of my classmates erupted in violent tears. Asked what the problem was, she replied she was given a cot, all alone in the attic, under the roofs of the convent, and could not sleep there by herself. The superintendent responded abruptly she would have to make do, explai ... read more Life is?? #226 a work in progress 6 y
** Let's go with the real Black superheroes:
Col. Allen West, Dr. Thomas Sowell, Dr. Walter Williams, Dr. Ben Carson, Booker T. Washington, Charles Drew, Benjamin Banneker, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass... I could go on, but I think you get the point. **
** {From a Post today on FB}
WHY MUST LEFTISTS RUIN EVERYTHING?
The Black Panther movie is NOT a call to Black Nationalism or ”racial empowerment.”
It’s a fictitious story about a fictitious character fighting a fictitious war in a fictitious universe.
Please stop projecting your identity politics onto everything. I have fond memories of my brother, my friends, and I collecting and trading comic books. My mother was just happy that we were reading and that it was a relatively inexpensive hobby.
Those who’ve actually read the comics and know the canons of the different universes ... read more Life is?? # 225 Very repeatable! 6 y
** A while back I had this dream! What did it mean? **
** Woke up with the impression ” 881 ”
this morning?
3/11/17
Was this connected with something I should do or just a random thought?
Time will tell.... When you get an impression first you should consider it - then think on it but act only if you get a clear direct directive...
I prayed about this - Then:
It then it appeared to be about Psalm 88:1
A song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
Psalm 88:1
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.
2 May ... read more |