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John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Have you ever tried to put up your hand and stop the wind? Have you ever tried to windproof anything? Wind just seems to be able to get into everything…
The force of the wind is always there, be it is slight breeze or a howling gale, it still moves so many things, never stopping, always getting its own way.
When we accept Christ into our lives we have a new spirit, one that will find its way into everything, one that should not be stopped, one that will blow all the cobwebs out. God gives us that spirit for a reason…
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Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling-block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
It is so easy to blame someone else when things go wrong instead of admitting that we actually are partly to blame when things go wrong. Well, we are fully to blame in some cases, but then we do have to accept blame then!
We can help and support those around us or we can tell them not to do everything and generally discourage instead of encouraging.
God wants us to build up societies and build up congregations, not to break them down and weed out the bad stuff – that is His domain and not ours! God would rather we make the way for others easier so that they can walk closer to Him!
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2 Corinthians 6:3 We put no stumbling-block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
There are times when we just need to put aside the things that others encourage us to do because they are not right. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in the ways of the world then people around us will see us as being no different than the rest of the world?
Would you like to be called a thief? If your ways are no different than the ways of a thief then you should not expect anything other than that from the people around you!
God wants us to give glory to Him. That means making sure that we do things differently so that He does get the glory and not the blame!
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Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Sometimes we think that we have to put up with a lot of things that the people around us do against us; but if truth be told it is very little compared to all that we have done against Christ!
Christ is willing to forgive us, even though we are the way that we are. Christ invites us in, even though we refuse to invite others in. Christ has done so much for us compared to what we may have done for others.
So let us put aside our ways and take on the mantle of Christ and forgive others, remember others in need, support others and put aside earthly ways that are so corrupt.
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Matthew 9:6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralysed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’
Jesus did many miracles whilst He was on earth and each one was done with love and for a reason. Christ wanted us to know in no uncertain terms that He is Lord!
When man doubted, Jesus took control. When man failed, Jesus lifted up. When the Scribes and Pharisees lifted themselves up instead of Christ, He forgave and healed people around Him.
Let us never doubt what Christ did because He did it willingly for us and He did it all to fulfil what was already written down as the scriptures.
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Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for the second time He reminded Moses of who He was. Not just God, not just The Lord, but the most merciful, gracious, longsuffering God that man could ever know.
Who else would show such mercy toward man after man had just turned his back on God and worshiped a calf instead? Who else would set in motion a sequence of events that would display absolute love to all generations?
It is our God, our Saviour, our Lord who has shown us time and time again just how merciful He is. Stand up and recognise it. Stand up and praise God!
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Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.
The mercy of God has been shown to us through the Gospel and through the scriptures, the truth. They have come together and we are blessed because of what has been done for us in the past.
Just as two people who have not seen each other for a while will hug and kiss when they meet, so too does the peace of God when we follow His righteousness.
Upholding God’s law and will gives us more peace than any kiss can from a greeting, but it is these “pictures” that allow us to see the meaning of God’s Word as well.
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Psalm 117:2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
God’s kindness towards us is so amazing that we find it hard to comprehend at times. First He shows us such mercy by forgiving us for the things we do against Him and then He extends that further by loving us on top of that forgiveness!
When we forgive someone we may still be weary of them because of what they have done in the past, but God’s forgiveness is total in that He chooses to forget our sins.
Even though Christ dies thousands of years ago, this same mercy and love continues on as strong as ever today. Thanks you God!
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Psalm 119:140 Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.
For something to be purified it has to endure trials. In order for steel to be made it has to endure the blast furnace, extreme temperatures and extreme conditions. In order for gold to be purified it has to endure lots of heat too.
God’s Word has endured so much over so many years that we can know it is true and pure, without corruptions, without man’s flaws.
We need to uphold that truth and live by it because it has been tried and tested. We need to love it and hold it close to our hearts. We need to trust in it wholly.
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Romans 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
If it was not for us coveting so much we may not find ourselves in such a big hole as we may be in! It was because Adam and Eve coveted what could come from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they ate of it.
It is because of our desires for things in life that we stray from what is right and righteous. It is our downfall and we must not ignore it nor the laws which show us it is wrong.
If we ignore it and think we are OK then we are just fooling ourselves because the law is the law and will still be there even if we try to ignore it!
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1 Timothy 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
The commandment being talked of here is that we should tell others of the Gospel of Christ; not to be caught up in all the workings of the world, the genealogies and other things that man seeks after but to concentrate on the Gospel of Christ.
We are surrounded by people who would rather try to make a name for themselves than to teach others about the truth. We get caught up in running with people who would teach about a prosperous future rather than the truth. We give in because we want to be happy and see the world’s trimmings as a means to that end.
Just knowing God’s truth and Christ’s love is more than any earthly treasure can give me and so I try to give out the Gospel so that others may see this love too.
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Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
When we think of a statement like “all things” we think of all physical and natural things but when we read this about God it is so much more than that!
God not only keeps the world turning, spinning on its axis around a star that does not just blow up, through innumerable obstacles in the middle of nowhere… but He keeps our hearts and our souls longing for more and loving so much.
Anyone could actually make a robot if they tried hard enough, but it is God that puts your soul into action and sustains it even when we try to go off by ourselves. That is our God who deserves the praise and honour!
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2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
It is often said that when you get married you become a new person, and rightly so. When you do choose to get married you change because you want to be able to please your partner and to live a life with them. With any luck you will leave your selfish ways and become one with your new partner.
When we become Christians we should be looking at things in a similar way because Christ wants to change us for the better. He frees us from our sinful lives and allows us to grow into something new with Him.
But that does mean that we have to make an active choice to follow Christ…
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Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We cannot look at ourselves just as naturally occurring animals as scientists would say because we are designed and created by our God. I know we may act like animals at times but God created as in His image.
Jesus showed us in no uncertain terms that we should be doing good works and upholding His Law.
When we ask Christ to be our Saviour He wants us to take up our new place as a Christian upholding His law and His name above all else – that is how He created us. He designed us that way and has given us everything to make sure we can live that way… but He wants us to make that choice for ourselves.
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Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
When Christ spoke these words it was not just to tell the disciples that they had to behave themselves as Christians should do because He knew inside their hearts already. None of us are perfect!
He chose “light” because light makes the biggest difference in a dark place. When we get up on a dark morning we switch the light on so that we can see what is going on; without that light we are pretty much lost.
God wants us to be like lights going out into the dark community bringing hope, peace and direction to all around us. Without that light our communities would be very dark places.
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Luke 11:2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When Jesus was asked by the disciples how they should pray, the result was what we know as The Lord’s Prayer. This is just the beginning…
When we wish to lift up our prayers to God we do need to remember that He is our God, He is all powerful, He is in heaven and He deserves all of our praise!
Then we can set our own hearts in order by saying that we do wish that things should be done here on earth as they will be in heaven rather than by letting go and running with worldly ways. God’s ways are perfect – follow them!
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Romans 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba,Father.’
Some people may look at a religion as being a cult that traps them into something which they cannot get out of. This is not what our God is like at all. Our God is here to set us free and not to trap us into anything we don’t want.
When we realise just how much God wants to be able to do for us and how much he cares for us, we will most likely respect Him and treat Him like our own father.
Yes we are under bondage in that we have a new responsibility to act in a decent manner after getting to know what God wants from us, but because of His great love for us, He wants to treat us like sons and not like slaves.
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Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
What we may think of as heaven and earth will change; maybe not the physical substance but certainly the quality of them. All the bad qualities of earth will be taken away with the sin and evil that man has continued to inject into this planet.
On the other hand, God has made sure that His Words have been written down and they will never change. Yes man will try to change things but God has continued to make sure that the scriptures have remained intact throughout history and He will continue to do so.
God’s promises remain. God’s Words remain. God is, has always been and always will be unchangeable and our Rock.
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1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives for ever.
Generation after generation of people come and go and the desires and lusts of their hearts, minds and bodies come and go with them. There is nothing of this earth that can be relied upon that will span more than one generation because nobody lives more than that.
But God says that we should be listening to Him because he does want to give us everlasting life – life that goes beyond our mortal generation.
When our bodies die, as they will, we continue on in our souls. Whether we live with God forever or face eternal death alone is our choice because God has given us that choice.
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Ephesians 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
There are times in our lives when we go out and do things just because someone else is watching us or just because we want to be seen to do something. We go out and we try and please others by getting them to see us doing something.
That is hardly coming from the heart… more like trying to make someone desire something or to be jealous!
God does not want us to trick others, entice others or persuade others through what they see us doing. God wants us to do things for others because we want to do it from our hearts. The same focus we should have in doing things for God.