MEDITATION MONDAY
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WHO?
- Jesus Christ and His blood bought family
WHAT?
- emPOWERed by Holy Spirit dependence
WHERE?
- in the family and out of the family
WHEN?
- in the family and out of the family
WHY?
- to bring the whole family into the glory of God
HOW?
- " ... by rejoicing in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Romans 5:3-5
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Yesterday, Steve's sermon began with this verse:
James 1:27
"Pure and undefiled religion
in the sight of our God and Father is this:
to visit orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
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He challenged us, as the family of God, by taking us on a journey through the book of Acts. Often, when a preacher takes people on a trip through Acts, it's to look at how people became christians or to look at the history of how the church began.
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Steve wanted us to consider / notice a few other things, too:
- When a church grows, there is persecution (both from without and within).
- For a church to grow God's way, Holy Spirit dependence is absolutely necessary.
- Spiritual maturity is a by-product of Holy Spirit dependence.
- A Holy Spirit dependent family of God has a priority of
- taking care of widows
- taking care of orphans
- taking care of the poor
- keeping themselves UNSPOTTED from the world
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As Steve spoke, he showed us the earthquake zones in the USA and the fault lines. He challenged us to stand on the FIRM FOUNDATION of JESUS CHRIST. I thought of our recent scripture memory of God's armor (all of which is JESUS) and the charge to STAND and PRAY!
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Let us not stand on:
- tradition
- family connections
- a list of good deeds
- how much money we give
- how much we know
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If that is the case, then it's time to:
This month's scripture memory says:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith into this GRACE
in which we now STAND.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
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Not only so,
but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character;
and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us,
because God has poured out His love into our hearts
by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us..."
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You see, at just the right time,
when we were still powerless,
Christ died..."
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I am so convinced that early christians understood Holy Spirit dependence and guidance. Yet, when they took their eyes off of Jesus, they gave the devil a foothold.
- In Acts 5 there were lies.
- In Acts 6 there was murmuring.
- In Acts 8 there was pride.
- In Acts 14 there was false teaching.
- In Acts 20 "wolves" were predicted.
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How does a church family survive such insanity?
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Women, men, and children who will:
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- Stand in Jesus!
- Eyes on Jesus!
- Pray through Jesus!
- Feed on the Holy Spirit!
- Depend on the Holy Spirit!
- Rejoice!
- Suffer!
- Persevere!
- Build character (Grow up! Mature!)
- Hope!
- Care for the orphans, widows, and the poor!
- Keep selves unstained from the world; there's power in the blood!
- Love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!
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NOTE: The above post is a post of GRACE and TRUTH!
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