dW 04.24.09

 

scripture

 

Philippians 2:1-4

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

thoughts

 

Do I make the people around me better? Do I see that they have fuller potential? Do I help them realize their fuller potential? Do I motivate them towards increases in their faith, trust, and belief in God?

 

prayer

 

Father God, thank You for today.  Thank You for the comfort which we find in knowing You. 

Give us glimpses of You today in all that we do.  May we learn and practice loving You and loving others.

Amen.

dW 04.20.09

 

scripture

 

1 Peter 3:8-12

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,  "Whoever would love life  and see good days  must keep his tongue from evil  and his lips from deceitful speech.  He must turn from evil and do good;  he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous  and his ears are attentive to their prayer,  but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

All that comes out your lips are life or death.

Unknown

dW 04.17.09

 

scripture

 

Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

 

En Espanol

lyrics

 

Amen by Deitrick Haddon

 

I asked myself how did He do it?
make such a sacrifice
and the ones that he loved
wanted Him crucified
oh yea, He knew that His friends would betray Him
and He knew that His blood would be shed
He could of put someone else in His place
but instead He said
Amen

CHORUS:
Amen
mmm I surrender
Amen
and my will be Yours
Amen

I lift my hands and say
Amen

so I looked at my tasks and trials
they can't compare to His pain
and if He can go through it
surely I can do the same
oh Lord
I bless You for all of the bad
and I bless You for all of the good
and the place where I stand
You have already stood

CHORUS:
Amen
mmm I surrender
Amen
and my will be Yours
Amen

I lift my hands and say
Amen

dW 04.15.09

 

scripture

 

Matthew 7:9-12

Jesus speaking, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

Giving without love is possible. Loving without giving is not.

Pastor Matt

dW 04.08.09

 

scripture

 

James 1:12-15

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

Temptation always promises more than it produces.

John Blanchard

dW 04.06.09

 

scripture

 

Song of Solomon 2:15

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

It is a fact of Christian experience that life is a series of troughs and peaks.  In his efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, God relies on the troughs more than the peaks.  And some of his special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.

Peter Marshall

 

thought

 

My pastor said a few weeks back something that I’ve chosen to think much about.  He said, “God tempts our obedience and Satan tempts our disobedience”.  When I’ve been tempted to act or think in unrighteous ways, I’ve come back to this and been able to resist the flesh and feast on the spirit. 

dW 04.03.09

 

scripture

 

Matthew 22:36-40

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

As long as anyone has the means of doing good to his neighbors, and does not do so, he shall be reckoned a stranger to the love of the Lord.

Irenaeus

 

thought

 

I asked a friend, “What good is it to have peace with men but have not peace with God?”

She responded, ““Peace with God is a prerequisite to having peace with men.  Living peaceably with men is evidence of having peace with God.”

 

Would you agree, disagree, or add something more?

03.02.09

 

scripture

 

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

 

En Espanol

 

thought

 

Though we, finite beings, attempt to understand that which is infinite, with our limited capacities, it is no less worthy an endeavor than if we were fully capable to understand that which is beyond knowing fully. Thus, we strive to know with ever-increasing certainty because ambiguity is not for theologians.

dW 03.01.09

 

scripture

 

Psalm 63:1

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

The soul, like the body, lives by what it feeds on.

Josiah Holland

 

dW 03.27.09

 

scripture

 

Exodus 15:11

"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?  Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

 

En Espanol

 

quote

 

Christians often talk far too glibly and easily about God.  “I have heard students,” says Professor Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, “talking about the attributes of God in a way that made me feel ashamed.  They knew everything ‘about’ God, except that he was listening to them.  They showed no signs of shame.  They were theological students.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer says more than once in his letters from prison that he finds a continually deepening meaning in the fact that the Israelites never allowed themselves to pronounce the name of God.

J. H. Oldham