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Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Jesus is not just the source of grace - he is grace
Thursday, 11 May 2017
Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability
God’s Abundance in Your Life
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
When you relate to God you always deal with abundance, for God does nothing in half measures! This is true regarding His grace.
The Lord is not miserly when it comes to providing grace to His servants. When you seek to perform a good work that God has asked you to do, you will always find an ample supply of God’s grace to sustain you.
If you begin to lose heart in the work you are doing, God’s grace upholds you and gives you the love for God and His people you require in order to continue.
When you face criticism and are misunderstood, God’s grace enables you to forgive your accusers and to sense God’s pleasure even when others do not understand what you are doing.
When you make mistakes in the work God has appointed you to do, God’s grace forgives you, sets you back on your feet, and gives you strength to continue the work.
When you complete the task God gave you and no one expresses thanks for what you have done, the Father’s grace surrounds you, and He reminds you that you have a heavenly reward where everything you have done in the Lord’s service will be remembered.
God does not promise to provide all you need for your dreams and projects. He does assure you that, for every good work you attempt, you will never face a shortfall of His grace in order to successfully complete the task God has given you.
From: Experiencing God Day by Day
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Preceding articles:
Next
- Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God's Spirit
Additional reading
- Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
- Failing Man to make free choice
- Looking for a spiritual new life
- Challenging claim 2 Inspired by God 1 Simple words
- When having found faith through the study of the Bible we do need to do works of faith
- Salvation, Baptism and Re-baptism
- Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #13 Prayer #11 Name to be set apart
- Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
- Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #18 Fulfilment
- Omniscient God opposite a not knowing Jesus
- Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
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Saturday, 7 May 2016
Saved through grace not through keeping rituals
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| Small-grace-for-all (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
We cannot ‘earn’ salvation through keeping rituals;
we are “saved through grace” and it will only be through grace that we will gain a place in God’s kingdom.
The essential ingredient for those who believe is to develop cleansed hearts,
the outcome of having a genuine faith.
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Friday, 5 February 2016
Using the gifts differing according to the grace
God's ideas always aim to reveal undetected, underdeveloped potential.
'Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.' Romans 12:6
Dear God, I ask you to constantly feed me
with your wisdom
and give me an insight into your wonderful works.
I thank you for your grace
and ask that it may help me to come to help others,
to let them know You and your son better.
Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Met behulp van de verscheiden gaven naar de genade
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Thursday, 10 July 2014
Looking for something or for the Truth and what it might be and self-awareness
What can be the truth and what do we understand under ‘the truth’? Are we speaking of man
made sets of concepts and beliefs, or the accumulation of scientific
knowledge, or mathematical certainties?
How can we find the truth and do we need to examine only all the NT writings or do we have to look at the OT writings also?
How can we get the full story of early Christianity and how much interest do we have to have for theological writings or to church letters and books written after the gospels and epistles?
Are you not curious what those Christians in the Old Times believed and how believes changed and churches found ways to grow? But those growing churches did they keep to the Truth? Did they not bring in teachings to become more popular and to have more people who could find their traditional events integrated in the church?
With education, we are able to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, and make what we might term moral choices. The human being is privileged that it has a brain which can be used to get such an insight. We as human beings can have a level of awareness and with it an ability to come to a natural expression of our physical organisation or being, and that it is an innate capacity or potential that we are uniquely born with.
In any case are there 5 teachings in the Bible which stand out and upon which all the others are based. Each of these are intimately connected, and none stands fully alone or independent. Other important teachings such as Law, sin, righteousness, faith, grace and salvation are all connected to these central themes and in some measure they are built upon them. These core teachings stand therefore in some measure as a foundation, and upon them and around them can be built a fuller understanding of the ways of God.
At the new website you may find core concepts for your investigation.
Where is the source of true meaning? Is it found in the world; in its philosophy, science, education, religions, or worldly wisdom?
While all of these fields are capable of helping us in our day to day struggles, they are not able to give us an answer to the larger question of purpose. They certainly may be treasured, but they are not that which really counts, which is more valuable than the sum total of all else. The Bible informs us many times that this treasure can only come from above, i.e. from God.
Find more about it in:
How can we find the truth and do we need to examine only all the NT writings or do we have to look at the OT writings also?
How can we get the full story of early Christianity and how much interest do we have to have for theological writings or to church letters and books written after the gospels and epistles?
Are you not curious what those Christians in the Old Times believed and how believes changed and churches found ways to grow? But those growing churches did they keep to the Truth? Did they not bring in teachings to become more popular and to have more people who could find their traditional events integrated in the church?
With education, we are able to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, and make what we might term moral choices. The human being is privileged that it has a brain which can be used to get such an insight. We as human beings can have a level of awareness and with it an ability to come to a natural expression of our physical organisation or being, and that it is an innate capacity or potential that we are uniquely born with.
The 21st century has brought us to an age of increasing complexity and sophistication, which is being driven by scientific advancements on a scale never seen before. These advancements are coupled in a strange way with a veneer of rationality that is difficult to reconcile with the advances in science. As science seeks to explain and explore every detail of the material world, the media and entertainment industries bombard us with increasingly puerile levels of information, often delivered in oversimplified sound-bites backed by expertly crafted graphic imagery for easy acceptance. The outcome is a society which has generally lost the ability to think and reason critically on the deeper questions of life.On the net you shall be able to find a new website which shall look at the way how we can look and interpret the Bible. There are numerous teachings in the Bible, but it can be good to now and then just to look at some basic elements which are not so hidden in that book that it would be to difficult to find.
In any case are there 5 teachings in the Bible which stand out and upon which all the others are based. Each of these are intimately connected, and none stands fully alone or independent. Other important teachings such as Law, sin, righteousness, faith, grace and salvation are all connected to these central themes and in some measure they are built upon them. These core teachings stand therefore in some measure as a foundation, and upon them and around them can be built a fuller understanding of the ways of God.
At the new website you may find core concepts for your investigation.
- God’s revealed purpose with both mankind and with the earth: God's Plan
- The revealed Creator of heaven and earth: the Elohim Allah God: Jehovah
- God His Revelation – God has spoken and revealed Himself and His ways. This is in His Word, in the book we commonly call the Bible.
- Human being, animals and plants, the elements in the universe.
- Jesus Christ – God’s son, whom God raised up to be a saviour. He is the completion of God’s purpose, the very image of the invisible God. The Nazarene man whom was called Jeshua, but of whom people changed his name in Jesus 'Hail Zeus' and made him a god of a threesome.
- Self-Awareness – and the Choices this Awareness Brings?
Most of us don’t really seek for answers but are somewhat satisfied by the consensus of opinions advanced by the experts and thought leaders we follow, whether consciously or subconsciously. The added complexity to the question of existence is the self-evident fact that total objectivity is rarely possible, since every one of us has prejudices that colour our reasoning and conclusions. This often works in ways that we are not even aware of. This is a peculiar quirk of the human condition. Our ability to be totally objective is often challenged by our education, culture, peer group or simply our preferred group’s prejudices. Most of us have an innate bias or need to conform to the consensus position of the particular group that we most closely identify with. This causes most people to rely upon the conclusions of those they respect and identify with, and who are often experts at articulating their positions. We rationalise, that if they cannot get it right and tell us the answers, who really can?Many may be looking for a long time in their life for true knowledge and wisdom. Do you have any idea where you or others can find it?
Where is the source of true meaning? Is it found in the world; in its philosophy, science, education, religions, or worldly wisdom?
While all of these fields are capable of helping us in our day to day struggles, they are not able to give us an answer to the larger question of purpose. They certainly may be treasured, but they are not that which really counts, which is more valuable than the sum total of all else. The Bible informs us many times that this treasure can only come from above, i.e. from God.
Find more about it in:
- Chapter 1 - General Introduction to the Blog Basic Bible Teaching: The Core Teachings of the Bible.
- 1.The Core Teachings of the Bible 1. TheCore Teachings of the Bible
- The Core Teachings of the Bible Chapter 2 - Self-Awareness – and the Choices this Awareness Brings?
- The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
- The Core Teachings of the Bible Chapter 2 - The Common Human Experience: 1. The Common Human Experience
- Is There a Greater Purpose to Life?
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Thursday, 19 June 2014
Church has to grow through witness, not by proselytism
In January pope Francis I spoke about Benedict XVI who said that the Church grows through witness, not by proselytism.
Jesus gave the order to his disciples and to all who wanted to follow him, to go out in the world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Evry person calling himself a Christian, should know that this should mean to be a follower of Christ, should also follow those teachings and orders of that person.
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| Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal (Photo credit: Catholic Church (England and Wales)) |
Jesus gave the order to his disciples and to all who wanted to follow him, to go out in the world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Evry person calling himself a Christian, should know that this should mean to be a follower of Christ, should also follow those teachings and orders of that person.
The witness that can really attract is that associated with attitudes which are uncommon:the pope said and named them:
generosity, detachment, sacrifice, self-forgetfulness in order to care for others. This is the witness, the “martyrdom” of religious life. It “sounds an alarm” for people.When people are religious those people should make a life for themselves filled with with thinkings which are not always of this world. Looking at this world, we can not escape living in it but should be careful not to become 'of it'.
“religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction."continued the pope.
The pope did not want to say “radical.”“The Church,” therefore, “ must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world. We are speaking of an eschatological outlook, of the values of the Kingdom incarnated here, on this earth. It is a question of leaving everything to follow the Lord.
Evangelical radicalness is not only for religious: it is demanded of all. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way. It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”Pope Francis has returned in a circular fashion to concepts that he has already touched on, exploring them more deeply. In fact he continued:
“You should be real witnesses of a way of doing and acting differently. But in life it is difficult for everything to be clear, precise, outlined neatly. Life is complicated; it consists of grace and sin. He who does not sin is not human. We all make mistakes and we need to recognize our weakness. A religious who recognizes himself as weak and a sinner does not negate the witness that he is called to give, rather he reinforces it, and this is good for everyone. What I expect of you therefore is to give witness.The pope wants this special witness from religious people and warns them to look out not to restrict themselves to dogmatic teachings endangering them to go into fundamentalism.
From the "Wake up the world" press conference January 2014
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Friday, 19 April 2013
Greatest single cause of atheism
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is
christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
[intro track to War of Ages album Fire from the Tomb]
Popularized by the 1995 dc Talk track “What if I stumble?
Brennan Manning
How I treat a brother or sister from day to day,
how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street,
how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike,
how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life
than the antiabortion sticker on the bumper of my car.
Ragamuffin GospelBrennan Manning
In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.
[Abba's Child]
Brennan Manning
“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes.
I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged,
I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good,
I feel guilty about not feeling guilty.
I am trusting and suspicious.
I am honest and I still play games.
Aristotle said I am a rational animal;
I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.
Brennan Manning
To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark.
In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.
As Thomas Merton put it,
‘A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God.
Brennan Manning
The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes.
It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches.
For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift.
[The Ragamuffin Gospel]
Brennan Manning
We should be astonished at the goodness of God,
stunned that he should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at his love,
bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground.
Ragamuffin GospelBrennan Manning
Do you realize that in a profoundly human way – the God of
Jesus loves you?
He loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness;
beyond fidelity and infidelity.
He loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain without caution, regret, boundary or breaking point.
No matter what’s gone down – He can’t stop loving you!
He loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness;
beyond fidelity and infidelity.
He loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain without caution, regret, boundary or breaking point.
No matter what’s gone down – He can’t stop loving you!
Brennan Manning
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| Brennan Manning (Photo credit: Jordon) |
He was the man who said Jesus loved the people around him and that his Father was willing to take them all up in His Kingdom if they wanted to come to Him.
In his book "The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled Beat-Up and Burnt Out" Manning takes aim at those “so-called Christians who disfigure the face of God, mutilate the gospel of grace, and intimidate others through fear.” He finds it unthinkable that the church rejects those who are accepted by Jesus. Jesus loves those whom the Father loves. If Jesus accepts sinners then God accepts sinners – and He does. How can any of us enter the Kingdom except that God accepts us in our sinful state? (Romans 5:8)
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