But cursed is the [cheating] deceiver who has a male in his flock and vows to offer it, yet sacrifices to the [sovereign] Lord a blemished or diseased thing! For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and My name is terrible and to be [reverently] feared among the nations. – Malachi… Continue reading Is your living sacrifice the best it can be?
Category: Commitment
What are you using as your measuring stick?
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 11:1, KJV It can be either very gratifying or very depressing when we compare ourselves to other people. If we are better off than the next guy, we might think very highly of ourselves. If we are not as well-off… Continue reading What are you using as your measuring stick?
What will you be striving to obtain in the New Year?
And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs. – Luke 12:15, Amplified Bible (AMP) New Year’s Eve is the perfect… Continue reading What will you be striving to obtain in the New Year?
Don’t fall asleep at the wheel.
Rouse yourselves and keep awake… – Revelation 3:2, Amplified Bible (AMP) It is not all that hard to become disinterested in the work God has given us. Many Christians work and work and work until they become “burned out,” so they decide to take a break from the work, never to return. Others take their… Continue reading Don’t fall asleep at the wheel.
There’s a time to be a leader, and there’s a time not to be a leader.
He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.] – John 3:30, Amplified Bible (AMP) Sometimes, you just have to step aside for the good of the team. There are few things more sad in the sporting world than seeing a once-dominant player stay in the game… Continue reading There’s a time to be a leader, and there’s a time not to be a leader.
God isnt just going to give you heart peace. You’ve got to show Him that you want it.
Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!] – 1 Peter 3:11, Amplified Bible… Continue reading God isnt just going to give you heart peace. You’ve got to show Him that you want it.
Don’t lead a pointless life.
For if I [merely] preach the Gospel, that gives me no reason to boast, for I feel compelled of necessity to do it. Woe is me if I do not preach the glad tidings (the Gospel)! – 1 Corinthians 9:16, Amplified Bible (AMP) “When you obey the call of Jesus Christ, the first thing that hits you is the… Continue reading Don’t lead a pointless life.
God would like you to stare at a metal plate for over a year.
For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, 390 days [representing 390 years]; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. – Ezekiel 4:5, Amplified Bible (AMP) Our service to God is not guaranteed to be joyful, rewarding, or pleasant. Many times… Continue reading God would like you to stare at a metal plate for over a year.
Where do you get your energy?
So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple. – Luke 14:33, Amplified Bible (AMP). I was involved in a discussion not long ago where there were differing opinions about what makes someone an “extrovert” or an “introvert.”… Continue reading Where do you get your energy?
You can be a complete failure, but God will still consider you a success.
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; – 2 Peter 2:5, KJV God does not categorize us as a success or as a failure based on how many souls we win, how many church members we… Continue reading You can be a complete failure, but God will still consider you a success.