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Romans 7:18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
We all like to think we are good, and some will uphold that title as compared to others here on earth… but deep inside each one of us is a nature which leads to sin.
This comes from the world around us and we learn it every day as we live in the world…
We all would like to be able to do the right thing all the time, but because of our sinful nature, we tend to get carried away at times and do things we should not be doing!
We all do – how we deal with it is different.
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Matthew 13:8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Jesus gives us all the chance of getting to understand and accept the gospel message; what our lives are like at the time is often the single thing which matters.
We can lead a good life and get caught up in things like money, sports or games; but these could be the things which stop us from understanding the gospel message.
If we are willing to listen and talk about it, just maybe that will be enough for us to get to grips with what Christ wants in our lives and allow us to focus on a lasting relationship with Him.
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Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
God does not ask many people to give up everything on earth because it is such a hard thing for us to do; but He may ask you to be willing to do so…
Sometimes it is not the final act of doing something which counts but the though and willingness to step forward for that act which is enough.
God does not want a load of people who will act like robots and do everything exactly as it was asked for hundreds of years ago – God wants us to be individuals who are willing to work toward a solid relationship with Him!
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2 Timothy 3:15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Jews took learning the scriptures quite seriously, making sure their children knew the law from an early age.
This was not by chance but from God commanding them to and them obeying that command.
Through learning they should know everything required to lead to salvation; but man’s corruption of the law meant many were kept away from the truth; that salvation came through faith in Jesus Christ.
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Psalms 49:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
The more we start to think about God and read about Him, the more we gain understanding – with that understanding comes a wish to share that wisdom with others.
As we start to talk about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, the more our hearts begin to fall in line with God’s wishes in our lives.
Being a Christian is not just about going to church on demand but living a new life with Christ deep inside it.
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John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
Imagine being told the person you love most in life is about to go out of your life! It is not a nice feeling and will trouble your heart, bringing grief and other feelings deep into your life.
Jesus was trying to get the disciples to understand how He would be leaving them physically – but not spiritually.
When we put our faith and trust in Christ, we are putting that same faith and trust in the Holy Spirit and in God the Father.
Jesus showed us how His promises come to life by introducing us to the Holy Spirit after He went to be by His Father’s side in heaven.
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Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we get closer to celebrating Christmas, do you get feeling of dread or joy?
I think there is so much hype around this time of year which is not directed to the original celebration of Christ’s birth that many people are now dreading this time of year.
My prayer for today is that we are filled with the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ as we focus on what Christmas should be about rather than the world’s greed.
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Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
When we give out food and hot drinks after our church service, it is not so much to encourage people to come to a church service but to show them our love as a church.
We do not ‘do church’ to make sure we have food and drinks; we meet together to worship our Saviour and to allow others to see church is more than just a meeting.
Heaven is going to be the ultimate ‘church service’ where we will be with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit as well as with all those who wanted Christ as their Saviour too.
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Proverbs 15:15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
The more we live our lives against God, the more we will find out how bad things can get.
The more we live our lives with God, the greater our peace and pleasure in living with Him.
“But what about those rich people enjoying themselves?” you may ask. We cannot see inside their hearts and cannot understand the fears they have to face…
It is better to have a poor life where we know what is coming and know God as our protector!
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2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Have you ever looked at your sorrow and wondered where it came from or why it was there?
The more we worry about worldly things, the more we work ourselves up to a point where our health actually suffers!
But when we are worried because we have done something against God, it could be seen as a righteous sorrow because it is going to make us repent.
When we bring things to God and ask for forgiveness, we should give them totally to Him and move on knowing God has promised to forgive us!
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Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
It is said you can tell when someone is happy, and so you can; their faces show their happiness… but it is not always easy to spot someone who is not happy.
It is easy for us to show our happiness, but sorrow is often something we like to hide from others; it cannot be hidden for long…
Our sorrow eats at our spirits which in turn works on our nerves and our whole body soon gives in to those nerves. God is watching us very carefully and knows when we are filled with sorrow and can help us before our bodies and spirits are affected.
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Psalms 102:17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
It may not seem like God is listening to your prayers when everything seems to be going wrong in your life, but God is certainly not ignoring your prayers!
The people of Israel did not give up on their prayers when they were under the horrific rule of the Egyptians; God was listening and waiting for the right time to answer those prayers.
We do need to be humble and patient to wait for God to answer our prayers; but we also need to be consistent and never give up praying!
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Psalm 9:10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Putting our faith and trust in the Lord is not just about saying you believe and telling others you believe… it’s about showing and experiencing an emotional, spiritual and loving communion with Christ.
When we can say we do experience that we will receive the promise Jesus gave us – The Holy Spirit will be with us and in us for our enjoyment and our requirements.
God will never turn His back on any of us who are willing to enjoy this loving communion with Him!
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Psalms 25:2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Here the psalmist is declaring his trust in the Lord, something we all need to do and allow others to see; what use is faith and trust if you hide it from everyone?
He also asks for protection from others who may try to work against him physically or spiritually.
I believe his focus is on asking God for strength and conviction to share the gospel without being ashamed; let us all ask for this same strength and conviction!
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2 Timothy 1:12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
When you go out and share the gospel message with people who do not normally go to church, there are bound to be times when people object to what you are doing.
Do not be ashamed of what you are doing – you are doing it for Christ and because of what He has done for all of us.
Putting your faith and trust in Christ means believing He has done what He did and will keep His promises no matter what we go through…
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Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
When we hope in things like winning the lottery, we see our hopes dashed – it is in vain.
When we hope in people who deceive us, we are disappointed because they let us down.
Putting our hope in Christ allows us to see rewards because He gave us the Holy Spirit to be with us after He went back to heaven.
Hope in the promise that Christ will come again and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with all God has promised!
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James 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
As we start December we can look forward to Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Christ; but it is not always good news.
There are times when we look at what the world has given us and we despair, wondering whether it is all worth it.
If we can trust in Christ and allow Him to strengthen us and guide us in our lives, we will find the things which test us do make our bond with Christ stronger – because we can see the results when we look for them!
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John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Black Friday has been and gone – so what was it all about?
Despite people trying to link this to the crucifixion of Jesus, it is all about money… It is the day when shops get their stock moving in preparation for Christmas shopping and the black comes from accounting term of being in the black (profit) rather than the red (debt).
There is only one Black Friday which offers hope and salvation and saving – that is when Christ was crucified; when He paid for our sins leaving us in the black for the first time for our sin debt!
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Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The blood of goats and calves and various other animals may well have allowed people to show they were repentant before Christ came to us; but it was still not quite enough.
When God allowed His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice, it was just that. No sacrifice would ever live up to the measure of Christ shedding His blood.
And this was done for us all; the ultimate sacrifice without a blemish, pure to the end and enough to cover all of our sins – accept it!
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Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.
God’s plan was set in motion by the building of the tabernacle, but that was not the end of it all; we needed something ‘out of this world!’
We may well have some of the best architects and engineers in the world who can construct all manner of amazing buildings nowadays, but they don’t quite make the mark…
God wanted something more to show us just how much we men to Him – and that was to bring His Son Jesus Christ into this world as the greatest tabernacle of all!