Is your life worth His sacrifice?

Christ died for each of us.  
Do we understand the depth of His love, for each of us, that He died in our place?  That He took our punishment, so we can live?

This is a call to all Christians.   We need to stop being a 'Sunday morning Christian'; and start being a '24/7 Christian'.

1. Have we changed our way....Of thinking?  

     "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Philippians 4:8

Of talking?  
     "Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behaviour."

2 Timothy 2:16

Of acting? 
     "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."

Luke 11:28

Of your responses to others? 
     "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.   Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples."

John 13:34 & 35

Of working?
     "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people" 

Colossians 3:23

     "For we are each responsible for our own conduct"

Galatians 6:5

.......to reflect Christ.


2. What have you done, to show His sacrifice was worth it?

"Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God..."

Luke 3:8

"Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. 

For to your shame I say that some of you don't know God at all."

1 Corinthians 15:34

Because if we love Him, and want to show that our life was worth His sacrifice, we need to obey his commands.

     "If you love me, obey my commands."

John 14:15

 

Who's to Blame?

How many times a day do we blame others for our own mistakes...
'...It's not my fault, he won't...';  '...You can't blame me, I wasn't the one who...'; 'it's not my fault, she didn't....'....

Don't you think it's time we admitted our mistakes and break free from the habit of blaming others. 

The Measure of a Man

How many times have you said to yourself  'I wish I was like him/her.  S/he is....(perfect, beautiful, creative, disciplined, strong, giving, energetic, rich, ...) '. 
No matter who we try to measure ourselves against, we will fail.  Because we are not that person.  We were all created different.
How we measure ourselves is not how God measures us.  We need to stop measuring ourselves against earthly 'things', and measure ourselves with the Bible, what it says we need to be like.

Heavenly Concert

The Good Sheherd

Luke 19:10   "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost."



**I apologize for the picture being sideways.**

On fire

Do people see Christ when they look at you?
How do you show that Christ lives within you?

Confessional

What is the hymn that talks about laying our sins/cares/burdens at the foot of the cross?

I think it is important that, as Christians, we confess everything to Christ.  If we don't, unconfessed sin will burden us, make us ill, cause stress and strife in our lives...to bring us back to the cross and to Christ.

Do I have to?

This cartoon is appropriate for a lot of different themes.

"Do I have to LOVE that person?"
"Do I have to FORGIVE that person?"
"Do I have to FOLLOW you?"

It's our choice that can result in our unhappiness.

Book of life

Following

I wonder how many times Christ thinks of doing this to us.

Hurtles

Sometimes we face 'hurtles' in our lives that seem like 'road blocks'.  There are times that we do have 'road blocks'; I tend to think of 'road blocks' as God's way of saying 'No, that is not what I want you to do'.  Sometimes hurtles seem that way, but I think it's God's way of redirecting us.  When I am faced with a 'road block', I tend to put out a fleece.  I am not questioning God.  I am finding out if what is in front of me is a 'hurtle' or a 'road block'.

Can't out run God?

Like the last post, when we don't like where God is leading us, we try to do what we want, not what is best for us.  I thought this would be another good reminder that He is in control.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knows our future.  And He only wants what is best for His children.

Trying to run from God?

We all try to do our own thing.  We turn from following the One who knows us best, knows our future, and knows what is best for us.  Yet time and again we stop following and try to get what we want, making ourselves miserable in the process. 

Thank you Lord, for your gentle reminders, persistence, and patience

Which Path Are You On?

Our Pathways: Are you trying to create your own?
Or are you following Someone who knows where they are going?

Reflections

Preaching

I wonder what the church would be like if Jesus was the pastor.

I think He would preach about love every Sunday.  He showed us how to make love our action and our reaction.  He showed us by example.  He forgave the sinner, fed the hungry, healed the sick.  Made blind men see, and lame walk.  Brought people back from the dead.  He loved his enemies, and forgave them.  He died for you and me.

He told us to love.  Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36; John 13:34 & 35; Romans 9:-21, 13:8-10;

Perhaps we should define ourselves using 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, as Christ defined Himself.

Are you fighting?

I'm not sure what to say about this post.  For me I think this one speaks for itself.  As Christians, I believe we are NOT to do what everyone else is doing, but showing that we are different, by our behaviour, our speech, our actions/reactions.  We are to be following what Christ says.  FIGHT THE TIDE, should be our motto.  Just because everyone else is "doin' it", doesn't mean it's right.

(I apologize that this picture is sideways)

who's shoes are you walking in?

No fence sitters allowed.

We need to decide were we stand.

The doors in our life

Our life is a mansion; rooms filled with doors.  The doors are all our choices, possibilities, wants and desires.
Christ, who is our guide, leads us around, showing us the doors we need to go through.
Lots of times we get distracted, wanting to go through different doors.  Sometimes we try to "back track", going back the way we came because this door led to a hurtful or painful experience.
God is molding us.
Those experiences are meant to shape us to who He wants us to be.  We just need to keep our eyes on Him, our guide, and keep following, until He leads us through the exit.

What door are you trying to open?

Related Scripture:
Isaiah 64:8
1 Peter 1:6&7; 2:21
Revelations 3:7&8