Spring Cleaning

From an email I got this week...

Spring cleaning is a time when we clean out the mess, open the windows and let the warmth and light shine in. Here are seven ways to spring clean your life:

Clean out Pride and replace it with Humility. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (Psalm 25:9)

Clean out Anger and replace it with Self Control. An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. (Psalm 22:9)

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)

Clean out Unbelief and replace it with Faith. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:12-13) 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. (John 3:16)

Clean out Revenge, and replace it with Forgiveness. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19)

Clean out Complaining and replace it with Praise. Do everything without complaining or arguing. (Philippians 2:14)

Clean out Wicked Thoughts and replace them with Pure Thoughts. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

Clean out Gossip and replace it with Encouragement. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph. 4:29-32)

"You Don't Have To Hate Your Life"

I wanted share an exert from a blog by Pastor Perry Noble. You can check out his blog at www.perrynoble.com.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO HATE YOUR LIFE!

Jesus Christ did not die on a cross, reconcile us to God, give us His Word and fill us with His Spirit so that we could live mediocre lives!

He is ALIVE…and those who follow Him should be as well!

Our dreams should be bigger!

Our passion should run deeper!

Our potential is greater!

We are called!

We are gifted!

We are commissioned!

WE ARE VICTORIOUS!

We should BEG Him for HIS direction…and understand that He wants to direct our steps WAY more than most of us want Him to!

We are not called to try to sell Him on our agenda but rather completely sell out to His!

You don’t have to hate your life…His call us for us is to live a full and complete one (John 10:10!)

So…let’s stop existing and start living…

The world does not need “more informed Christians” but rather more ignited, passionate, sincere followers of Jesus!

And when we LIVE in HIM…and the WORLD sees HIM…THAT is when He can use us to make the biggest difference!

Webliography

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

Webliography...

In previous blogs I have shared with you some of my favorite books, today I would like to share some of my favorite websites. Each of these sites relate to God and His Word. My hope is that they bless you as much as they have blessed me. And, as always, send me your favorite websites. I would love to see them.

www.thebricktestament.com

This website tells the story of Scripture exclusively through the use of LEGOS. At first, I thought this site would fun for the boys but the more I read the more fascinated I became. If you have trouble simply reading the Bible you need to check this out. It’ll be fun and you may end up reading more of the Bible than ever before. Due to the nature of some Bible stories, please check the ratings provided for each story before sharing them with your children.

www.mergedgospels.com

This site not only has merged Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John it provides helps to prove that the Gospels are 100% historically accurate. This is a fantastic website with great research and tremendous video presentations.

www.youversion.com & www.biblegateway.com

These are my personal favorite online Bible study sites. I love having the Bible just a click away. Let me know what your favorite Bible sites are.

The Resurrection

It truly was a happy Easter! God blessed us at the Ascension Convention (thanks to everyone for your help… you guys are awesome!) and Sunday we got to celebrate our risen Lord and Savior!

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. Some may ask what is the historical evidence that Jesus actually rose from the dead? Christian apologist Josh McDowell provides six facts that prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ in history.

Fact 1 – The broken Roman seal

Fact 2 – The empty tomb

Fact 3 – The large stone removed

Fact 4 – The Roman guard goes AWOL

Fact 5 – The graveclothes

Fact 6 – The appearances of Jesus after His resurrection

I don’t have room to go into all of the powerful details of each of these facts, but if you’re serious about looking into this evidence or know someone who is, take please visit www.josh.org and click Evidence for the Resurrection to get the whole story.