Month: August 2019

rich and poor

Seeking Justice For Income And Wealth Inequality

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Part of our responsibility as Christians is to work for justice in our society, especially to help the poor. Over the past few years the gap between the rich and the poor in America has been widening. Here are some statistics from Business Insider: ” The average American millennial household today (ages 20 to 35 in 2016) has an average net worth of $100,800, while the average American baby boomer household today (ages 52 to 70 in 2016) has a net worth of $1.2 million, reported Mallika Mitra for CNBC, citing a MagnifyMoney analysis of Federal Reserve data on household assets and liabilities (all values are adjusted for inflation). That means that baby boomer households in 2016 had twelve times the net worth of millennial households. ” In 1998, the average household aged 20 to 35 had a net worth of $103,400, while households aged 52 to 70 had a net worth of Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God Will Honor Us! – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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‘My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26, ESV. Jesus promises that when we become the servant of Jesus then the Father will honor us one day. God originally made humans with honor and he wanted this honor to grow. He made us in his image and though it is broken he gave us a new self with a restored image of God. This is our true self and one day it will be fully developed. Scripture states in many places that God will honor us, usually by saying he will glorify us! (For example, Matt. 13:43; Rom. 8:17, 21; 2 Cor. 4:17; Col. 3:4; Phil. 3:21; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3.) Originally, as image-bearers of God we were supposed to be fruitful and fill the earth. We would have been highly honored in this work. In the next age we will have responsibilities such as Continue Reading →

judge discern

Discernment Is The Guardian Of Our Soul

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Discernment is an extremely important skill for spiritual growth. God wants us to constantly discern our world so that we can keep pursuing him. Discernment means being able to distinguish between the influences of God, ourselves, the Enemy and others. Scripture also presents it as the ability to distinguish good and bad (Heb. 5:14). Discernment is our inner navigator on the path of growth. Paul prays for the Philippians: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9-10, ESV). Thus, knowledge and discernment are needed if our love is to grow, which is the essence of maturity. Notice that Paul says “all” discernment. Furthermore, discernment allows us to approve and embrace what is good which leads to holiness. Why is that Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

True Life – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. ” John 10:10-11 (NIV). In this passage Jesus is explaining who he is to the Pharisees. Obviously, they had a life so they might have wondered why Jesus said that he came so his sheep could have life. Therefore, we understand that the life he gives us, his sheep, is not the same life that the rest of the world has. It is a different life. It is a life with fullness, with depth, with meaning, with fulfillment. Then Jesus says he is the good shepherd and in John 10 he has been explaining how he is a shepherd. I have to think that this made everyone there think about Psalm 23, which starts out ” The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

We Are Free – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32 (ESV). Jesus also said that he was the “truth” (John 14:6) and that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, ESV). Knowing Jesus means that we know the truth, that he is from the Father and he is the Savior. We find truth in Jesus’ teachings for he said: “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63, ESV). Believing his words allows us to experience true life which sets us free from sinfulness which is the power that enslaves us. “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34, ESV). As we walk by his Spirit we walk in growing freedom from sinfulness and freedom for goodness. We are also free from the influence of this world that tries to live without Continue Reading →