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Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
By our very nature we rebel against God. It is not something new and it will continue to be the fact until we all join Christ in Heaven!
Christ came to earth to fight the fight against evil so we could have eternal life even though we fight against Him to start with.
Just as we have many opposites in the physical world, light and dark, fire and water, so our lives are spiritually opposite to Christ’s until we trust Him to forgive us for all those things we do wrong.
We may want to do good things, but our sinful nature leads us astray much of the time!
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Matthew 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
I know we can all do bad things and we can all do good things, but bad people seem to inherently side with bad things and vice versa.
This does not mean Christians are always good either. God created us good in the beginning and we chose to do bad things.
When we get back into a good relationship with Christ we do tend to change and turn away from bad ways.
When we live with The Holy Spirit in our lives we will tend to follow His ways more often than not as He continues to guide us.
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James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
How would you go about trying to convince someone you had faith if you were not allowed to do anything other than talk?
One of the easiest ways of showing others your faith is through doing things rather than just talking about them.
I don’t think I have great writing or talking skills, but I can show people my faith by continuing to do things with God.
To me faith is all about going ahead and doing things knowing God is still in control and He is supporting the things I do for and with Him.
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James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
We can go out and do as much as we can; we can do it all for churches and for other people… but what are we aiming at?
It is good to be a good person. But what gain do we have out of being a good person? We may make ourselves feel happier…
Christ wants us to believe in Him and to have faith in Him, trusting Him.
Without that faith and trust we only have earthly rewards for earthly deeds.
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1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Do you envy people who have loads of money and are able to go out and do things all the time?
Do you look up to people who give to charities, support others and generally spread their money around?
If they do not have love and compassion for the people they are supporting then it seems like it is a bit of a publicity statement to me.
I tend to share with others because I love them; even when I have very little to share.
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1 Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
There are some people who just seem to have the ability to know when things are going to happen; some people who know and exceeding amount of information. Again I marvel at them.
But without love for other people those gifts are only of monetary value here on earth and nothing more!
God gives us gifts to share with others and to love and support them; following God’s will is not always just about doing stuff!
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1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
I marvel at people who are able to speak many different languages and to understand and communicate to so many because of that fact.
But if those people do not have love and compassion toward the people to which they are speaking; what real use is that amazing ability?
God has asked us to spread His love through loving others and sharing the Gospel.
If we do not use our own abilities to obey God then what use are those abilities as supplied by God?
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Mark 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
This scribe answered Jesus’ question by recalling the rules written down from the Jews’ history; and Jesus confirmed this as being correct.
We need to have a right attitude towards others in our life that is in line with how much Christ loves us.
God has always tried to encourage people to love Him more rather than just following rules.
Loving someone without limit and without wanton reason can be difficult unless it is done with Christ.
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Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Most religions and even organisation have a moral code by which they say they live; those moral codes are important to them.
Just the same, we have a code by which we should live as Christians showing love, mercy, justice and truth to others.
If we want to be effective Christians we need to show others we do live by that code and we stick to it.
When done with the right spirit obeying these ways are much more important to God than sacrifices we make.
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Hosea 12:6 So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually.
Hosea was pleading with the people of Judah to turn back to God at this stage in their history. It was God who created us and allowed us to start living with Him; but us who continually run the other way!
God continues to call us back so we can live a wonderful life with Him, and us who continue to ignore God’s precious calling.
God wants us to show the same mercy and grace to others which He gives us. But we must also be patient and wait on Him.
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Philippians 1:12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel
One thing I do struggle with at times is how many things go wrong in my life! I’m not talking about stubbing my little toe or things like that but the spiritual attacks we seem to attract as Christians.
I do like to think that everything I go through actually makes me more prepared to help others; but I cannot put my hand on my heart as say that for sure!
We live in an evil and broken world and as such we should expect some bad things to come our way, not because we are bad nor because we do anything wrong; just because we live in an evil world!
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Acts 8:1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
When the going got tough for the Jews, many of the people left the area and scattered themselves throughout the surrounding areas.
We see this happening today with many people fleeing from persecution and wars to try and at least live a normal life somewhere else in the world.
But the apostles and many devout church leaders stayed behind to make sure the Gospel was told to the people. They were willing to face the persecution rather than leaving people without hope.
God calls us to stand up and trust Him. That is very hard when the world around you seems to be going mad!
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Luke 11:23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
I like to think of these words as encouraging us not to use the wrong stuff to try and do the right stuff with.
We can use a metal dish to mix things up with and even place in an oven, but we cannot use it in a microwave. We need to choose our tools and choose the time to use them correctly.
When we come forward to discourage people from doing wrong or following evil, we should not use evil to try and accomplish that with.
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Mark 9:40 For he who is not against us is on our side.
Just because someone is different does not mean they are doing it all wrong or working against you; it just means they are different.
The disciples came to Jesus and were upset that someone else dared to cast out demons just as Jesus had asked them to.
His response was not to discourage them for not being their own disciples but to allow them to continue doing things because they were doing it in the name of Jesus.
Working for Jesus Christ comes in many different guises and we all work together fulfilling God’s will.
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Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
I believe this verse goes so much further than we read on the surface; I believe this verse talks of all the mourning in our lives and not just the mourning for people who have died.
If we are willing to mourn for all the evil, sin, wrong-doing and other negative things in ours and other people’s lives, then we shall be able to look for and find comfort from God.
God wants us to be able to give things to Him and to lessen the burden on our lives.
His comfort comes from loving and supporting us when everything around us seems to be falling apart!
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Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Yes God does get angry when we continually do things wrong. Is He allowed to? Of course yes!
It is not an anger that is a reaction without thought but a righteous anger because we deserve it!
But His love and mercy continue on further and deeper than the anger and we can be sure His love will bring us more joy in the morning when we turn back to Him!
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Lamentations 3:23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
It is only because of God’s grace and mercy that we are being kept by Him today.
There is a whole lot of evilness and unpleasantness in the world today, but there is always goodness and mercy too.
We may feel like we are swamped by all the negative things all the time, but looking for the positive is always rewarding.
God has proved His faithfulness to many generations and we need to remember that and cling to it for ourselves too.
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Deuteronomy 7:9 Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
An idol cannot show mercy and faithfulness; but they can sit there and do absolutely nothing when you want them to!
God made promises to mankind in the beginning. God made promises to Israel. God made promises throughout history. And God keeps those promises!
We fall short, we give in, we bend the rules, we take short cuts and we still know God is willing to forgive and take us back!
A thousand generation is a very long time and this passage reminds us we are limited in time, but God is not!
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Exodus 20:6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
When you try and remember parts of your bible you probably stick to the most well-known passages and verses; I know I do.
When you try to remember the Ten Commandments you may well forget about this verse.
God requires that we do server Him and Him alone, but He also offers encouragement to keep His will in our lives by showing us grace and mercy.
We fall far short of the requirements, but he continues to allow us to be forgiven and to be with Him. I love God!
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Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
How quickly do you give up waiting for someone before you go off and do something else?
How quickly will you forget about having to do something which you are not looking forward to having to do?
We all have limits and those limits are different for each of us, making us unique in many ways.
God continue to be patient with each of us and continues to try and encourage us to live for and with Him every day; it is our patience and staying power which crumbles and falls.