What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately LIX (59)…
Greetings My Friends~
As a simple pilgrim following Jesus through the rainforests and deserts of this earthly life, I would like to humbly share some of what God has been bubbling up in my mind/heart lately.
I pray that these thoughts are cushions in your shoes, balm to your burns, umbrellas for the rain, and shade to the scorching heat as you too follow the Lord Jesus each day.
(please click on the Bible books/chapters/verses below to read the actual Scripture passages)
(October 2016)
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Maturity
Christian maturity isn’t about staying “up” but looking up;
not keeping a spiritual “high” but fixing our mind on Jesus Who reigns on high.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (esp. verse 2)
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Life AND Doctrine (not or)
Loving doctrine doesnt ignore loving actions–
loving doctrine is the fuel for loving actions.
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Where Do You Plant Yourself Each Day?
A. If we spend more time absorbing social media & popular tv/movies/music
than the Bible,
we have culture roots–
our beliefs/actions (fruit) will show it.
What’s your soil?
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B. Only plants with Bible roots bear Bible fruits;
plants with culture roots bear culture fruits.
We can’t love like Christ if not planted in His Word.
John 15:1-8 (esp. verses 3 & 7)
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C. Without a foundation in all of the Bible
we will love people their way not God’s way–
they only feel truly loved when we agree with & celebrate them completely.
Matthew 18:15-17
2 Corinthians 7:8-11
Proverbs 9:7-9
Titus 3:10-11
1 Timothy 5:19-21
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
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D. The logical result when we arent planted daily in the Bible—
we become chameleons blending in with culture
instead of Christians standing out with Christ.
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E. Heavenly Father–
help us throw off the algae scarves of shallow Christianity which we’ve celebrated
& seek the pearls of Truth deep in Your Word!
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F. We don’t feed our mouths by the work of our hands;
we feed our hands by the Word from God’s mouth
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Like a fish in an inch of water,
many Christians gasp for breath
as we try to survive each week
in a thin amount of the Bible at church & house…
…and so in our shortness of breath
we reach out
for any sin or anything that the culture offers to us;
our gasping leads to our grasping.
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Shalom
The world’s “peace” is a temporary house of cards–our will–blown over by a gentle gust.
The Lord Jesus’ peace is a forever mountain–His will–enduring the fiercest storm.
Matthew 24:35
Ecclesiastes 3:14
1 John 2:17
John 14:26-27, 33
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Growing Is Linked To Going
Maybe many Christians aren’t growing in holiness
because we aren’t going in obedience
to the harvest fields
to share Jesus’ Truth with our words.
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Trials
Dear Christian–if your trial feels like the world’s end,
focus on Him Who made the world’s beginning by His Word
& your guilt end by His cross!
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Look to God Before Doing For God
Isaiah 22:9-11:
When God brought trouble to His people,
they got busy:
they stored, counted, tore down, built–
but they didn’t look to the LORD.
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