Tag: Christ

Why ALL are equal in front of the law & an apology from one Christian

I find this post from Mastin Kipp thought provoking:

“BUT, as a lover of Jesus, it breaks my heart to see so many “Christians” hate so many people. I believe to be a Christian simply means to try your best to be Christ-like, and all that means is to be as LOVING as possible. I have a tattoo of a cross on my left arm and it says on it only two words, “Be Love”. It’s my constant reminder that no matter what path we walk in the world, Love is always the bottom line. And Love has many different forms.

I believe that there is no stopping an idea whose time has come, and the time for marriage equality has come.

Jesus didn’t say, “Love the sinner, hate the sin” – he simply said above all else, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So on behalf of all Christians, please accept my apology if any of us have made you feel hated, judged or criticized for who you were born to be – be it gay, straight or anything else.

You were made perfectly. You are perfect. And as so many stand in judgment, perhaps you could give them a little dose of Jesus and simply utter the prayer “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do.”

Go to the source of this quote to read his entire post: Why ALL are equal in front of the law & an apology from one Christian.“

Mastin Kipp
Continue reading “Why ALL are equal in front of the law & an apology from one Christian” →
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Gandhi & Buddha… What About Jesus Christ?

Kelly O’Brien writes:

Happy New Year, everyone! It seems many of us make New Years resolutions and in order to stay inspired as we revamp our diets or workout routines, relationships or careers, we turn to quotes and affirmations. Universally, we all seem to be able to relate to quotes and “life advice” from spiritual leaders throughout history: Gandhi, Buddha, etc. What about advice from Jesus Christ? It seems when many hear the name “Jesus Christ,” they recoil. Sides are taken, much like a debate between a staunch Republican and avid Democratic. People dont want to hear advice from Jesus Christ, yet his advice is as powerful as Buddha and Gandhi. You can put a quote from Gandhi on your Facebook wall and people will hit “Like” but put one from Jesus Christ and you might get defriended. If you can stay open minded, keep reading.

via Gandhi & Buddha…What About Jesus Christ?.

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How many observe Christ’s birthday!

“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!” Benjamin Franklin via Tumblr

“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!” Benjamin Franklin via Tumblr

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The Gospel in Two Minutes

Earlier this Spring we had the chance to hear from Trip Lee on his new album and its connection to the gospel and on-the-ground sanctification. In this video he explains the gospel in two minutes.

via The Gospel in Two Minutes.

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100 Quotes on Sanctification

Without further ado . . . the randomly selected winner of the quote contest is Andrew Donth, who shared some Spurgeon with us. Here’s the quote:

Charles Spurgeon: “If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward.” (Sermon, “Justification by Grace”)

Thanks to all of those who participated in the “send us a quote” contest that began on Monday. We have received hundreds on sanctification, the theme of our National Conference. There were so many that we literally cannot fit them into one blog post (I tried). So I’ve whittled the list down to 100 for you to spread or archive.” via 100 Quotes from You on Sanctification – Desiring God.

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One Day at a Time

“One day at a time–this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.” via One Day at a Time – Single Parents – Families.com.

I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday while weeding in the garden. My wife and I were talking about taking things one day at a time. I told her that while she was in Italy, sometimes it was all I could do to live second to second, minute to minute, hour to hour let alone a day at a time. The purpose of living one day at a time is to reduce life to bite sized chunks — like the old riddle how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…

Jesus said ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof‘ [I don’t know why I like the King James version of that quote so much, but I do]. The epiphany for me was that this not only applies to looking forward, but also looking back. Sometimes I can’t bear up under the future OR the past but I don’t have to. I can live one moment at a time when things get overwhelming!

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians chapter 3:”12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

I forget what is behind and I strain toward what is ahead one day at a time…

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Flee, pursue and lean

Sunrise over the south beach of Jamaica.
Sunrise over the south beach of Jamaica. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” http://bible.us/2Tim2.22.NIV

I find in this verse a threefold approach to spiritual and mental health.

  • Flee ‘evil’
  • Pursue ‘good’
  • Get help from likeminded people…

It’s not enough to simply stop doing something — I believe you have to START doing something else and it’s great to have help from likeminded people who will support you in your quest…

Posted from WordPress for Android

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O Mother, Great Is Thy Power

Charles Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel September, 1873:

The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power!

Design submitted by Jennifer Knight. Follow DG on Pinterest here via O Mother, Great Is Thy Power.

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Empty-handed, full-hearted

A closeup of a hug.
Leo Babauta shared this back in March…

We often load ourselves up when we travel, because we want to be prepared for various situations. This burden of being prepared leaves us with our arms full, unable to receive whatever is there when we arrive.

It leaves us tired from carrying, so that we are not happy when we meet someone new on our travels.

What if we traveled with empty hands, ready to embrace new experiences, receive new foods, touch new people?

We might feel less prepared when we leave, but the preparedness is an illusion. Stuff doesn’t make us prepared. Having empty hands but a heart that is full of love leaves us prepared for anything. Continue reading “Empty-handed, full-hearted” →

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Why do I do this?

Cover of "God of All Comfort (Pure Gold C...

The short answer is because I can. The long answer is because I feel it’s my duty…

I have been blogging for over 7 years and over the course of time I have developed a fast and efficient workflow for blogging. I can share ‘better and faster’ than anyone I know. In my business, I teach thinkers how to become thought leaders on the internet and how to use content management and marketing for thought leadership. I have a business blog, but this site is where I share personal thoughts — it’s kind of a personal lifestream or a personal scrapbook of the good stuff I find in my travels around the internet. The tools I use allow me to share things in seconds so why not?

I also share because I care. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says…

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. Source: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV – Praise to the God of All Comfort – Bible Gateway

I see it as a duty to share the comfort I myself have received. It is written in the Book of James

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. Source: James 4 NIV – Submit Yourselves to God – What causes – Bible Gateway

I share because I must…

I’m not much of an original thinker so most of my posts are simply curated content. My hope is that I’m doing my small role in the Universe to amplify good thoughts and perhaps help people find something they need when they need it. Does it work? You’re reading this aren’t you?

:-D

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Behold…

“Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”

– Jesus Christ,  Luke 17: 20-21.

via Today’s Quotes: IT’s NEVER TO LATE!.

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Don’t Dwell on It, Revision It!

Rarely is dwelling on the past seen in a positive light. Nor should it be. Thinking too much about times gone by typically keeps your mind–and life–stuck in neutral (and maybe even shifts it into reverse). If you habitually ruminate over your earlier life, you may regularly be revisited by feelings of anger, guilt, resentment, sorrow, or shame. And such emotions are hardly productive. In many ways, they’re downright toxic. Fretfully obsessing about the people and events precipitating such negative feelings can lead to endless recycling. Becoming increasingly stagnant, or fixated, your thinking really can’t progress toward any adaptive resolution.

Moreover, returning to the past to rehearse old dissatisfactions and grievances–even to replay images of earlier triumphs–and idly preoccupying yourself with irreconcilable thoughts about them, can result in self-reproach, lamentation, remorse, and even bitterness. Using your mental energy for such a doubtful purpose can catapult you into the inextricable pit of woulda, coulda, shoulda. With the result that you can end up consumed with regret–what French existentialist, Albert Camus, has referred to as the most futile of emotions.

Yet, to be fair, dwelling on the past does have certain short-term advantages. For instance, you might become preoccupied with earlier events of success by way of rationalizing present-day frustrations and failures. If you haven’t been able to live up to the hopes of others–or to your own expectations–you might find temporary comfort in reliving past accomplishments. But while focusing on past positives may afford you some relief from current disappointments, by itself it does nothing to direct (or re-direct) your efforts to further your objectives in the here-and-now. And if you’re to realize your full potential in life, you need to squarely focus on what you can do right now to fulfill your promise–not on what you achieved in bygone times.

Source: The Past: Don’t Dwell on It, Revision It! Part 1 | Psychology Today

Go to the source if you’d like to read the rest of Leon Seltzer’s article…

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St. Patrick’s “Breastplate” Prayer

English: Saint Patrick stained glass window fr...

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

via St. Patrick’s “Breastplate” Prayer (The Prayer Foundation)..

Go to the source if you’ve never read this beautiful prayer in its entirety…

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Be grateful for where you are now

Faith Happens
Image via Wikipedia

“It doesn’t take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason—even if I don’t know what that reason is and even if I don’t particularly like who or where I am today,” a friend said to me. “When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me,” he said, “that’s what spirituality is all about.”

Faith and hope aren’t just for the future. Try using them on today.

Could it be that you’re who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.

God, give me enough faith to believe in today.

via January 28: be Grateful for Where You are Now | Language of Letting Go.

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A Comforting Message for the New Year

Spurgeon near the end of his life.
Image via Wikipedia

Charles Spurgeon said:

But here is the joy, here is the peace of Christians, that our salvation is a finished one! We have not a farthing to pay to complete the ransom of our souls. We have not a stitch to set to finish the robe of our salvation. We have not an act to perform, a prayer to offer, a tear to weep, a thought to think in order to finish the work of our redemption! I know that all these things shall be worked in us and, that by the Spirit of God we shall be made to do them — but all that shall not be with any view to the completion of our salvation — that was finished in the Person of the bleeding Lamb of Calvary! . . .

Either Christ completed all that was necessary for your salvation, or he did not! If he did finish it, then rest in him and be glad, and say, “I am secure forever because my salvation is finished. I have nothing to do but to live to the honor of him who has completely saved me by his Grace, his blood, his righteousness.

Download the entire sermon, “A Comforting Message for the Closing Year” (PDF).

Source: A Comforting Message for the Closing Year – Desiring God

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Edwards’s Resolutions in Seven Categories

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a leader of the Great A...
Image via Wikipedia

Jonathan Parnell shares this:

Back in 1723 Jonathan Edwards chartered a list of resolutions for his life. 70 of them. And he read them once a week.

Matt Perman writes:

[Edwards] shows us that a well lived life doesn’t just happen; it requires intentionality. And intentionality manifests itself in certain “mechanisms” that help us maintain our intentionality. Edwards’ resolutions are one example of such a “mechanism.”

So Edwards is a good example not just of a life that is lived well, but also of the “practical side” of how to actually build that intentionality into our lives, rather than just letting it remain a vague wish that never takes deep root and makes a real difference.

Refusing to be vague, Matt has organizedJonathan Edwards’s resolutions into seven specific categories. This approach is a fresh way to help us apply their wisdom where we live. The categories include:

  • Overall Life Mission
  • Good Works
  • Time Management
  • Relationships
  • Suffering
  • Character
  • Spiritual Life

The New Year is upon us. Read through Edwards’s resolutions. Print them out. Consider adopting them as your own for a Christ-exalting, God-entranced vision of all things.

Source: Edwards’s Resolutions in Seven Categories – Desiring God

How will you guide your thinking as you prepare for a new year? Better days don’t just come from singing a song…

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10 Ways to Ask Your Wife for Forgiveness

Husband And Wife

One thing men are very talented at is getting into trouble – especially when they are husbands. Sometimes we’re thoughtless, sometimes we’re forgetful, sometimes we’re selfish, sometimes we’re downright mean. More often than not we get ourselves in deep water because we are – quite simply – clueless.

Regardless of how we got there, trouble is a place we need to vacate, and fast. We need grace, we need understanding and we need forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a sweet and a beautiful thing. But forgiveness can neither be earned nor demanded – it has to be given, as a gift. However, rather than skulk around in hiding, there are a number of things All Pro Dads can do to facilitate the conditions in which forgiveness might possibly thrive.

It’s important to remember that you’re not so much trying to get out of trouble as you are working to heal the relationship. That’s something that requires self-evaluation and humility. So try these 10 Ways to ask your wife for forgiveness…

via allprodad.com

Unfortunately, I need this now. Follow the ‘via’ link above along with me to get the 10 ways…

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10 Ways to Get Your Wife to Trust You

Walterignez
Image via Wikipedia

Two brothers live at home with their parents. Don, 17, has a strict curfew. Dan, 16, is never told when to come home. The difference is trust.

Mom and dad know Dan will be home around 10:00. If he’s going to be late, he always calls. But Don never lets them know what he’s up to and he’s lied consistently for years.

For all his openness and detailed communication, Dan feels free as a bird. Don, however, even though he keeps many secrets, always resents what he experiences as a short leash.

Marriage is a similar dance of trust and credibility. Partners who demand “freedom” and push the limits to see how tethered they really are never experience the sense of liberty experienced by those who respect their spouse, keep no secrets, and keep one-another informed about everything.

Non sequitur? Not really. Trust is a sticky issue, but it’s an irreplaceable element if relationships are to experience the kind of freedom and confidence that can only be grounded in mutual respect.

Here are 10 ways to foster trust with your wife…

via allprodad.com

Follow the ‘via’ link if you’d like the 10 ways. Me? I’m working on it…

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Phillipians 3:12-14

“Phil:3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

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