John Ortberg, in his book, The Me I Want to Be says, “Because you have been created by God as a unique person, his plan to grow you will not look the same as his plan to grow anyone else. What would grow an orchid would drown a cactus.”
The worries and anxieties of life and the uncertainties of the future so easily distract and will always beg for our attention, but that doesn’t mean we have to give in to them.
The apostle Peter tells us at the very end of his second letter (2 Peter 3:10-18), to “be on your guard” and to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord viagra barata.”
Growing in a relationship with Jesus doesn’t just happen by itself. Whether you’re a new Christian or you’ve been a Christian for a while, growing is easier said than done. There are days that we feel stuck or far away from God instead of closer to Him.
Rather than being concerned about when we will get through something, we can maintain focus on who promises to be with us through it all. Because Jesus is patient, He doesn’t give up on us. Because He is kind, He rescues us.
Our current circumstances are temporary, but God always has good for us. We can grow the most with Him as we walk with Him through our circumstances, step by step.
What circumstances do you want God to bring you through?
What is one way you can grow in your relationship with Jesus?
Are you surrounded by Christian friends who encourage you to grow with Jesus
I knew the story, I’d read it dozens of times but several years ago John chapter 13:1-17 changed my life forever. We see Jesus washing smelly, dirty, calloused feet with His own holy hands.
Jesus could have easily impressed the disciples with His résumé. ‘Creator’, ‘Sustainer’, ‘Sovereign Lord’, ‘King’, ‘Messiah’, to name a few. Instead, in the most remarkable turn in all of history, the Son of God removed His clothing and acted as a slave. The one most deserving of position chose servant as His appellation and humility as His attitude.
Jesus, the most important person in the room, began washing the disciples’ feet showing His disciples that in God’s economy, greatness is shown by humility, through service and sacrifice, and by laying it all down to honour God.
If we’re honest, we all spend a good bit of time trying to make a name for ourselves rather than laying our name down for Jesus. Our desire is often to become great in the eyes of men, rather than God. What would happen if those who claim to follow Christ actually followed His example by laying down their titles, their positions, their status, their status symbols, their posturing, their influence and became servants of all?
The Bible says that the 11 men in that room “turned the world upside down” by laying it all down and becoming servants of all. What are we waiting on? Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
Be encouraged by Jesus, and serve as Jesus served.
Quality : HD Title: John Wick: Chapter 2 Director : Chad Stahelski Release : 2017-02-08 Language : English Runtime : 122 min Genre: Thriller, Action, Crime.
Synopsis : Keanu Reeves’ retired hitman was compelled to load up his guns again because a mobster’s son killed his dog – 2015’s original John Wick film was a slick and gripping action thriller. This sequel, directed by Chad Stahelski, who also co-directed the original, offers similar thrills and spills on a grander scale. Here, Wick is forced out of retirement (again) when an Italian gangster redeems a blood oath against him. With gruff reluctance, Wick travels to Rome to kill the gangster’s sister as prescribed, but when he succeeds, it sets off a chain reaction. Not only does her loyal bodyguard Cassian (Common) want payback, but the gangster sneakily places a $7 million open contract on Wick’s head, as it would be “dishonourable” not to avenge his sister’s death – even though he ordered it. When Wick returns to New York City, every assassin in town is after his blood.
When you cheat on those you love the most. God fully loves you. Greedily hoard your money and refuse to offer help to those in need. God loves you.
Fly off the handle and lose your temper. God loves you.
Gossip about as many people as you can. God loves you.
Humiliate as many people as possible on your way to the top. God fully loves you in your selfishness.
Make disproving Jesus your life goal. God will love you as you discredit His name.
In your moments of greatest depravity, God offers His greatest grace. God meets you at the bottom of your mess. When you are ready to turn off the porn but can’t, when you have to have another drink, or when wish you could stop hiding behind a lie, grace is there to meet you. (Romans 5:8)
Scary isn’t it? What do you do about that? You can’t do anything about it. It just is. God is love. He always has been gracious, always will be gracious, it is a part of His unchanging character. Grace cannot be earned nor can it be altered. Grace is not something we’ve asked for. It’s simply been given to us.
God is not surprised or turned off by any circumstance or action. Grace does not change. God does not change. Grace fully loves you right now. God fully loves you right now.
Nothing you do in your life can add or take away God’s love. You cannot lose it. And if you can’t lose God’s love, what is there to lose? Why not live like it?
You can’t do anything for God to love you any more or any less than He does right now. He loves you as much right now as He has ever loved you. He loves you as much right now as He ever will.
God fully loves you, always has fully loved you & will always fully love you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
You can’t do anything for God to love you any more or any less than He does right now. He loves you as much right now as He has ever loved you. He loves you as much right now as He ever will. God fully loves you, always has fully loved you & will always fully love you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
When you hate God. God still loves you. When you cheat on those you love the most. God fully loves you. Greedily hoard your money and refuse to offer help to those in need. God loves you. Fly off the handle and lose your temper. God loves you. Gossip about as many people as you can. God loves you. Humiliate as many people as possible on your way to the top. God fully loves you in your selfishness. Make disproving Jesus your life goal. God will love you as you discredit His name.
In your moments of greatest depravity, God offers His greatest grace. God meets you at the bottom of your mess. When you are ready to turn off the porn but can’t, when you have to have another drink, or when wish you could stop hiding behind a lie, grace is there to meet you. (Romans 5:8)
Scary isn’t it? What do you do about that? You can’t do anything about it. It just is. God is love. He always has been gracious, always will be gracious, it is a part of His unchanging character. Grace cannot be earned nor can it be altered. Grace is not something we’ve asked for. It’s simply been given to us.
God is not surprised or turned off by any circumstance or action. Grace does not change. God does not change. Grace fully loves you right now. God fully loves you right now. Nothing you do in your life can add or take away God’s love. You cannot lose it. And if you can’t lose God’s love, what is there to lose? Why not live like it?
The manger scene is the central image of Christmas in exactly the way you’d expect. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, and it happened in a manger in Bethlehem.
But in truth , the manger is exactly what you wouldn’t expect. This is the Messiah long prophesied by Almighty God “by whom and for whom” the world was created. He is the Saviour of the world. So why does God come to poor, low-born parents, as a vulnerable baby literally left out in the cold? Why is He born among the straw and the stench of livestock?
This is the outrageous part of Jesus “Emmanuel,” or God with us. From His birth in a manger to His death on the cross, Christ overturns our human understanding about what constitutes God’s plan, God’s will and God’s glory.
For me, this is hope. Salvation doesn’t come from our birth right in the right family. It doesn’t come from human effort or from connecting the dots with human intelligence.
From first to last, God reveals himself as God by the power of God. Jesus’ manger scene is meant to soften our minds and our hearts for the preposterous truth that He is the son of God and that all who believe in Him will be saved. His grace overturns God’s holy judgment against sinful mankind. His very humanity is meant to turn everything we think know about God on its head.
The God who dwells outside this world broke into it.
He brings mercy and not judgment.
He takes the sin punishment on Himself and lets the guilty go free. Jesus’s victory comes in defeat. His life comes to us through His death. The manger scene shouts to the nations across the generations, “This Jesus is unbelievably good news! And if you can believe it, then there is eternal hope!”
In her book ‘The Hiding Place’ Corrie ten Boom talks about the barracks where she and her sister Betsy were kept in the Nazi concentration camp Ravensbruck were terribly overcrowded and flea-infested.They had been able to miraculously smuggle a Bible into the camp, and in that Bible they had read that in all things they were to give thanks, and that God can use anything for good. Corrie’s sister Betsy decided that this meant thanking God for the fleas. This was too much for Corrie, who said she could do no such thing. Betsy insisted, so Corrie gave in and prayed to God, thanking Him even for the fleas. Over the next several months a wonderful, but curious, thing happened. They found that the guards never entered their barracks. This meant that the women were not assaulted. It also meant that they were able to do the unthinkable, which was to hold open Bible studies and prayer meetings in the heart of a Nazi concentration camp. Through this, countless numbers of women came to faith in Christ. Only at the end did they discover why the guards had left them alone and would not enter into their barracks.
It was because of the fleas. This Advent Season , give thanks to God for every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), but also thank Him for how He will use all things for good in the lives of those who trust Him (Romans 8:28). In this time of so much uncertainty in the world and challenges of , physical, emotional, relational and financial pressures there can be little doubt that such a trusting prayer of gratitude will be challenging to consider. But when you feel that challenge, take a moment, and remember the fleas of Ravensbruck. And thank God anyway .
