'you will be known by the Love you have for each other.' [Jesus Christ, john 13.35] that's almost very completely different from 'you will be known by the lack of love you show to each other' it blows my mind that this concept has been abused all over the world in many different ways by people quoting scripture '[or at the very least chanting 'the bible says' in response to any criticism] to justify things, [...]
Proverbs 13.12 says 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.' which is nice and everything so if you give someone your word then make sure you are true to it otherwise you will give someone a sick heart. is what i think the author of the Ten Ways to Love list [which remember is not me, i am just expounding on this list] was meaning with this [...]
Colossians 3 verse 13 reads, 'Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.' i am not convinced that 'forgive and forget' is a biblical concept altho many people quote it as if it is... for me the idea that God has forgiven my sin and then developed some kind of universal amnesia is a lot less exciting than the picture [...]
i mean this is a pretty easy one, right? i don't think there is anyone out there saying that Jesus didn't pray or that we don't need to pray... this feel like something we all know but few of us do... and so it is really just being reminded once again that if Jesus, the Son of God, felt a need to spend time in prayer [or at least modelled the importance of it] then [...]
sometimes we might find ourselves at a place where we feel like God is not using us and that can be frustrating... one thing about Jesus is that He always seemed to be on the look out for opportunity and He spent a lot of time with His Father in prayer seeking strength and wisdom and insight for the opportunities that He knew would present - so are you asking God and then are you [...]
1 Corinthians 13.7 says 'It [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.' this Corinthians description of Love is a huge one and is one of the most quoted Christian passages at weddings and i really do love it - what stands out for me is that the Love described here is very different to what the world suggests in terms of feeling and passion and sex, but the Love mentioned here has largely [...]
at the simple way tonite we had Chris Haw come and share on the question of whether or not to vote... it was a really interesting discussion and sharing time and i imagine there was enough sensible reason given to vote [and this seriously piss off the 'thou shalt not vote' people] as well as enough sensible reason given not to vote [ditto with the 'tis within your moral obligation to the world to vote' [...]
this is a really short one, but a very important message for Jesus followers to hear - the significance of the fact that the message Jesus brought to the world was something that He referred to as "good news" and the question each one of us should be asking about the message we are speaking and living out... to move on to the authority of lived out Love, click here
Philippians 2 verse 14 to 16 says, 'Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.' [...]
Ephesians 4.15 says, 'Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.' Ah, i get it now! When i read 'Share without pretending' i had no idea what this was going to be about, but the verse link cleared it up. We are talking about speaking the truth in Love. And i would add in Proverbs 27.6 for [...]