Category: Books

How Much Do We Love The Church

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kereweddingdress.blogspot.com

In his book, Forgotten God, Francis Chan asks the question, how much do you love the church?

I read this with interest and thought about some things that are really disturbing to me. Recently, my son was called a bible thumper in youth group. It made me laugh, although my son was angry about it, but it was a funny statement coming from within the church. I laughed because it’s true! He is a bible thumper and his questions and study make me smile.

We read the bible at our house and we discuss it and we teach it and we try very hard to live it. Although, yeah, with teenagers we sometimes find ourselves defending and explaining ideals that they often find old-fashioned to our culture today. What was meant as a put-down wasn’t in my eyes because it’s our job to teach the bible to our kids. We love the church that much! Not even because we are pastors either. We loved the church before we were in ministry. We are friends of the groom, called to serve his bride and prepare her for a wedding. This is why I love the picture above so much. The people in the picture are caring for every detail of the bride in preparation!

What happens though when the church doesn’t know she’s getting married? I have a friend who is faithful to her church attendance. Her children are in Sunday School each Sunday. Get beyond the basics of Sunday School and her kids know nothing really about the word of God. They can’t pray cognitively for a meal or for themselves or others. Should not love for the church begin at home? I spoke to this issue with her. What I realized was to raise a bible thumper you really have to believe the bible. You have to know it, you have to read it. A thousand sermons at your left hand and ten thousand at your right, makes you no more an effective witness if you don’t know your word. How can your family stand against the trials of the world if they do not know the word or who the bride is beyond a mere acquaintance? So what is the fruit of our testimony? Is it not in part our children and our life? Does it matter that the people who I call friends and co-workers come to ask me to pray for them but my kids live like hell? How much do I love the church? It shows first in my life. No not one of us is perfect nor do any of us have the perfect family, I certainly don’t. I want to try to do better. I want to love the church so much that television or tiredness or overwork doesn’t cause me to forsake my family. I don’t want to depend on the little songs from childhood Sunday School to get my kids through. I want to be active and engaged in their education. I want them to know that I love God not just with my lips but with my action and my advancement of the kingdom in their lives. I ask what my kids are reading in their bibles, and no it’s not the only thing they read. We discuss viewpoints and my bible thumper has some deep thoughts that you’d never know about unless you ask. Bible study is not just for the pastor’s kids, it’s for everyone who loves the church.

TLC4Women

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messenger international

Nurture
Give and get what you need to flourish
Find your voice, discover your strength, & make God connections.

Tonight starts our new bible study. We are studying Lisa Bevere’s Nurture book. Cost is $12.00 for the workbook. Can’t wait to see all of you there!

Peter Buffet

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news.yahoo.com/s/

Here is a book that is going to the top of my reading list. Peter Buffet the son of Warren Buffet has written a book called Life is What You Make It: Finding Your Own Path to Fulfillment. I will write a review when I read the book but for now, read the Reuters article written by Christine Kearney by clicking here.

There was a quote that grabbed me,

“Economic prosperity may come and go; that’s just how it is,” he writes in the book. “But values are the steady currency that earn us the all-important rewards.”

Peter Buffet sounds like a very wise man who understands money is a tool and not the excuse for not living your purpose and dreams!

From Beth Moore’s Site

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http://www.inspi...rokes.com

Beth Moore had her simulcast this past weekend and she wrote the following on her blog. It bears repeating!

My Dear Sister

If Christ is Your Savior

You are the dwelling place

Of His own Spirit

You have it IN YOU

to be secure.

Every day of your life

You have a choice to make

You can live in your old defeat

Or you can turn from your unbelief

And choose life

Make up your mind

To put off the old you

And put on the new you.

Never, ever, ever forget

That the Lord is your security.

He will keep your foot

From being caught in a trap.

He will take care of you

To your very last breath.

Now, leave this place

And go out into the world

And act like a person

Who knows she’s dearly loved.

You were born to be exceptional.

So, Girlfriend, go forth

And walk worthy of your calling.

You are clothed in strength and dignity!

Now unto Him

Who can keep you from falling

Be glory and majesty

Power and authority

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Now and forever more

Amen.

So Long, Insecurity!

My Beside Table

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Besides the bible there is a book that is a constant on my bedside table. It’s called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I was reminded of the book today by a friend who posted the four agreements on Facebook. If you are a reader I recommend this book. It has practical wisdom for living your life at peace in today’s world. The agreements are these:

1. Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-doubt, and regret.

Winners Focus Losers Spray

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http://www.searc...eople.com/ zh-TWblog/ 17-ways-a...tent.html

Michael LeBoeuf, author of The Millionaire in You says “Winners focus; losers spray”. I love this because it’s so true. Winners focus on a goal. Which is why vision is so important. You’ve got to stay focused.

What does it mean when he says, losers spray? We all have the friend who dates many people but isn’t looking to settle down. I know someone who is so good at the serial dating that he buys them all the same gift at Christmas so as not to get him confused. Yes, one year they all got Coach purses, another year leather jackets. He has given them each a different date for his birthday so that each one could celebrate, to be honest I don’t know if the birthday I have is for real either. He is very careful to call them all the same pet name. He is not looking to be a winner in the relationship department. He is spraying many targets thinking when he is ready one may hit. This method would be a complete waste of time if his goal were to score a relationship.

It’s the same concept with our job, business ideas and personal goals and yet, so many times we get scattered. We lose focus and go off in a different direction, spraying our resources of time and talent and money in a variety of directions. The one thing I know about winners is they stay focused. Remember Michael Jordan the king of basketball? Then suddenly he decided to spray his talent and play baseball but he wasn’t good at baseball because his gift and focus for so long had been basketball. We all wanted him to be great at baseball but it wasn’t happening that way.

Most millionaires who didn’t inherit their wealth did so because they had focus. They had tenacity and a belief in their goals. If you are saving to buy a house then don’t spray and go out and buy a new car. Get a goal in mind, stick to it and don’t lose focus. Want to change your marriage? Then focus in on it and make a successful marriage your goal. Read the books that will help you, change yourself first instead of pointing a finger and don’t go listening to this friend and that family member and that other co-worker. Focus. Write this quote down somewhere, it’s important. Winners focus; losers spray.

I’ll Take A Side Of God Please!

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christianaudio.com/ blog?m=200908

Nowhere in Scripture do I see a “balanced life with a little bit of God added in”  as an ideal for us to emulate. Yet when I look at our churches, this is exactly what I see: a lot of people who have added Jesus to their lives. People who have, in a sense, asked Him to join them on their life journey, to follow them  wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us.  He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life. –Francis Chan author of Forgotten God Reversing Our Tragic Neglect Of The Holy Spirit.