paraventure:

Fall Afresh (feat. Jeremy Riddle) | Bethel Music

Awaken my soul, come awake
To hunger, to seek, to thirst

That last post, I have to be honest, was written in a fair amount of frustration. I still hold to what it says, but I wanted to say this so the tone’s understood correctly. Is anger towards mishandling the word of God okay? Probably. Anger at sin isn’t bad, but I’m afraid my tone inferred an anger towards people, and that’s not at all what I was mad about. 

I’m not mad at people, I’m mad that the truth has been misused and mishandled. I need God to help me have patience when I meet people who have done that. I need to help to only hate the sin and not the sinner (since Jesus died for them and I need to treat them in love out of reverence for Jesus).

Anyways, I know I haven’t been on too much, but is there anything y’all want to learn about? Any burning questions y’all want me to answer? Hit up the ask box!

Note: The Bible consists of 66 different pieces of literature, divinely inspired by God, written to certain audiences in specific points in time and culture. In it we find histories, songs, prophecies, wisdom, and other things. But if we walk through each piece correctly, taking into account its context, then we can rightly see the great truths that God has given that apply to us all.

Many things bother me when it comes to incorrect doctrine, but the one that probably bothers me most is when people take verses/passages out of context.

Exegesis…. learn how to do THAT instead of pulling verses out that stack up into your pre-conceived ideas (aka eisegesis).

gloryofgod3:

This made me smile. :)

THE MAGIC BEGINS: Favourite scenes.

Just had a thought. In my mind, I just paralleled this scene with Jesus and believers today (Voldemort being analogous with Satan, of course). Satan wants us to feel cut off from everyone else. He wants us to feel alone. 

No matter how it seems where you are, you are not alone. There is this whole family of believers, the true Church/Bride of Christ that is believing  in Jesus along with you. We are meant to pursue Him in community, as a part of that Church. We are meant to encourage each other every day, and build each other up, and spur each other on towards Jesus! 

Are you alone? Seek out a community of believers to plug into. Even the Lone Ranger had Tanto, so don’t try to be some sort of super-spiritual hermit. It doesn’t work.

Do you feel alone? You are not! Stay a part of the community you’re in, and get to know them. Know their stories. Read stories of believers in other parts of the world. 

And above all else, know that we have God with us, abiding IN us, always. He is out Comforter, Friend, Father, and Counselor. 

Emmanuel, God with us.

We are never truly alone.

spreadthetruelight:

Guys, don’t ever use the Bible to justify yourself.

Use it to CORRECT yourself.

newheightsdance:

From http://statigr.am/p/275472020266064458_20025293

Wow. I just posted that thing about discipline and how God gives us stuff to train us and how it’s unpleasant while we’re in it, but I only JUST NOW realized that he was definitely talking to me with that. 

Wow, that’s really humbling. That God would take the time to help me realize that those passages are applicable in my life at this very moment. I needed that.

Thank you, God.

I love how this verse is expounded upon in Hebrews 12:1-13—>

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”[a]

7 If[b] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”

God is our heavenly father, who loves us so dearly that he coaches us day by day to be the best we can be. He loves us too much to let us stay where we are in life; he knows it’s better for us to grow, to be more like him, to trust him more. So he coaches us as our dad, training us. Like in sports training, it can be painful and difficult, and we don’t always know why we have to do it, but in the end we come out so much stronger than we imagined.

Remember that next time something bad happens, or hard times come. It’s not a punishment; Jesus took all our deserved punishment on the cross in our place, so it can’t be that. See it as discipline: God’s putting you through training. It hurts now, but after it’s over you will be stronger if you persevere.

frolickingfrivolities:

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Some thoughts about avoiding awkward/controversial conversation topics. A good read.

the-illnatic:

You often hear christian guys or girls say “I want my spouse to love Jesus more than me“  And people are freaked out by this. But try to think for a second - How does it sound if it’s the other way around? 

“I want my spouse to love me more than God!” Now that my friends, is crazy. 

God bless. 

spreadthetruelight:

abideinhislove:

spreadthetruelight:

theologicalkitty:

‎2000 years ago a King was born with the sole intention of dying.

I don’t mean to be picky but Jesus was picky about this. He laid down his life. He did not intend to die. John 10:18

wait.

What is the difference?

he could pick it up again. we can’t because we die.

to me the biggest thing is that dying wasn’t his sole intention in whatever sense you mean it… it was only one thing he did. And then he rose from the dead. those were two huge things that Jesus knew from OT prophecy that would happen. He loved us enough to follow God the Father’s plan with all of it. 

whatever the case, God sent Jesus to die and rise again so we could be reconciled to him and have eternal life if we have faith and believe in him. And for that, I am thankful.