IT'S A SLOW FADE...3:16...

MEDITATION MONDAY

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Today is 3 / 16!

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All the world needs to know

what christians know about 3 /16:

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In the Bible, God's word to mankind,

John 3:16 says,
"For God so loved the world

that He gave His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish but have eternal life."

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When Jesus lived in the flesh, on the earth, His life style demonstrated the LOVE OF GOD. His teachings emphasized BLESSING. God BLESSES us. God wants to BLESS us. God wants us to understand how to lead a BLESSED LIFE. Over the last few months, on this blog, I have discussed Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount". It begins with Jesus articulating attitudes of the heart of those who would lead a BLESSED LIFE:

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"Blessed are the PURE IN HEART,

For they shall see GOD."

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I am not one to believe everything that I read... I am usually pretty skeptical about the latest research... Yet, from my listening to people over the last few years and being immersed in ministry, I believe that it could be possible what I read last week: "...over 70% of men and 30% of women in the USA are addicted to pornography..." In the same article, it also said that first exposure to pornography is usually in early elementary school...
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My friend, there is a spiritual battle taking place over your soul and the souls of your family. Satan does not want you to believe in God or to see God! He does not want people to understand the love of God. One of his tactics is to draw people into a false love. He desperately wants to keep christians from being pure in heart.
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I pray that you are protecting yourself, your husband, and your children from the horrible cancer of pornography. I have many dear friends who have messed up their lives and those of others because of this sin. These friends lost their ability, over a period of time, to "see God" and His goodness and love. They are or were living in a world of deception and fantasy as they focused on their own selfish pleasures. It was a SLOW FADE!
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Over the last few weeks and the next month, we at the Pitman church of Christ are focusing on "fireproofing" relationships via a series of sermons, lessons, discussions, and "Love Dares" that started with two showings of the FIREPROOF movie starring Kurt Cameron as Caleb Holt. If you have not seen it, I beg you for the sake of you and your family to rent the DVD and watch it. I have now seen it three times and plan to watch it again multiple times as well as buy a copy of it for each of our four adult children.
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Our theme songs from last week and this week are from that movie: "While I'm Waiting" and "It's a Slow Fade". You can listen to them on the playlist OR you can go to the Sunday posts from these two weeks and watch the Youtube videos of the songs.
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Of course, all of this is cause for meditation and prayer. Yet, as we continue our study of the Beatitudes this week, I leave you with some "Patti Paraphrases" from the movie, Steve's sermon yesterday morning, our life group discussion last night, and the scriptures at the top of this post to meditate on:
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PATTI PARAPHRASES:
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MOVIE:
Caleb's dad tells him that...

God's standards are so high, that to Him...

"Hatred is murder!"

"Lust is adultery!"

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Caleb's dad continues by telling Caleb that true love is a decision. You choose to love other people whether they deserve it or not. "The cross was offensive to me until I came to it...Jesus changed my life!....Son, you can not give what you do not have!"

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He went on to say that the bad news is that people sin, are selfish, lie, deceive, murder, abuse, lust...

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SERMON AND LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION:

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God's love takes a decision. We must choose to love unconditionally! There is a chapter in the Bible that is often referred to as "The Love Chapter": I Corinthians 13. I have it typed, in part, below. Then read it and substitute God's name in place of love. Then, read it again and, substitute your name in place of love. It can be life changing.

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1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy,

it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude,

it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.
Love never fails."

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"GOD is patient, GOD is kind.
GOD does not envy,
GOD does not boast,
GOD is not proud.
GOD is not rude,
GOD is not self-seeking,
GOD is not easily angered,
GOD keeps no record of wrongs.
GOD does not delight in evil
GOD rejoices with the truth.
GOD always protects,
GOD always trusts,
GOD always hopes,
GOD always perseveres.

GOD never fails."

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"_______ is patient,

_______ is kind.
________does not envy,
________does not boast,

_________ is not proud.
_______ is not rude,
_________ is not self-seeking,
____________is not easily angered,
___________ keeps no record of wrongs.
___________ does not delight in evil
___________ rejoices with the truth.
_________ always protects,

_________always trusts,
___________always hopes,
___________always perseveres.

_____________never fails."

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