Month: June 2017

rejected by society

It’s OK To Be Rejected By Society – Part 2

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Last week we saw that it is normal for society to consider Christians intolerant or antisocial and that historically people turn to Jesus when Christians are outcasts and lights for Jesus. So isn’t it best to let go of our need to be viewed as tolerant and progressive and inclusive? Is it possible that our unwillingness to be considered irrelevant and morally narrow is really a desire for worldly approval, even though we say it is for Jesus’ sake? Are some of us avoiding the idea of Christians being separate from the mainstream of society? If we let go of these things we will find peace as well as greater effectiveness for Jesus. Instead, we should remember that we do not need to think of ourselves as being on the defensive. Rather, we are always on the offensive because we are bringing “goodness and light” to the world. Thus, we Continue Reading →

rejected by society

It’s OK To Be Rejected By Society – Part 1

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Many of us feel like large portions of our society are hostile to Christians and not willing to respect our beliefs. Christians are vilified in some media just for expressing moral standards. We are considered intolerant towards people, and irrelevant to society. We are misrepresented in order to make it easier to reject us. The good news is that these are all attitudes that the citizens of the Roman Empire held towards Christians for over 250 years. But Christianity still steadily grew and by the end of the 4th century it was the dominant religion in the Empire. Christians in the Roman Empire were considered antisocial because they did not join in the immoral pagan worship or in the violent and bloody spectacles that were popular at the time. Christians were considered atheists because they would not worship any of the Roman gods or worship the Emperor as a god. Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Jesus Values Our Everyday Work – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:23-24 (ESV) This is one of the most practical words of encouragement in scripture. Many of us spend much of our time on tasks that are not enjoyable or in environments that are unpleasant. For example, think of all the time we spend on house chores, paying bills, grooming and other types of maintenance. This passage explains that whatever task we are doing we are actually serving Jesus. The Lord values the work we do. Whether we are landscaping a yard, teaching a class, answering phones, or keeping house – Jesus values our work. If we reprogram our thinking so that we remind ourselves that while we work that we are working for Jesus then we will Continue Reading →

Incredible Motivation To Live For Eternity

Incredible Motivation To Live For Eternity

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I enjoy tennis. And I want to continually improve because it brings some joy to hit the ball well instead of hitting it over the fence. Also, playing well allows me to compete with others without being embarrassed and enjoy the competition. So I am motivated to improve and I am willing to sacrifice for it. Awhile ago I wanted to improve my forehand stroke by practicing with a ball machine. When I finally had time I checked the weather – it wasn’t good. It was cold and windy which is not good weather for standing and hitting balls from a ball machine. Should I go? I debated briefly but I decided to go. I was willing to sacrifice comfort for the sake of improving my forehand. In fact it was cold and miserable and I spent about 20 minutes of my 60 minutes setting up and taking down the Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Our Coming Appearance – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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Col. 3:4 “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” When Jesus comes back and appears to all then we will also make an appearance. What kind of appearance will we make? First, we will have a joint appearance with the “star” of the universe: Jesus Christ. A rising movie actor may hope that one day that they will get to appear in a movie with one of their movie idols. But we have a much greater appearance in mind – and ours is guaranteed! Secondly, we will appear “in glory”. This does not just mean that we will go to a glorious place to live. The primary meaning is that we will have a glorified body and soul that is like Jesus’ body and soul. This is a prominent New Testament theme. We will finally be who God intended us to Continue Reading →