2 Corinthians 6:9-11 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…
We’re not just “trying” to PASSIONATELY PURSUE the Lord. We are “training” to passionately pursue the Lord! If you just try to bench press your weight it can be very discouraging. But you can train to bench press your weight and make progress to get there. Training physically and training spiritually have a lot of resemblance.
We’ve come into a season of KINGDOM ADVANCE! Acceleration is taking place, and this requires greater precision in our pursuit or we can more rapidly deviate from God’s intended pathway for our lives and for our legacy. Foundational truths matter more than we may realize to hold us on course. So, we return to the five foundational truths we know God has given us as a church family to focus on and to grow in together.
Jesus came bringing God’s Kingdom into the world where many kingdoms exist, and this means war!
This peace we read about here, in Isaiah 26, is actually the Shalom peace of God. Shalom speaks of the fullness of God’s blessing in the earth which is more than just a basic idea of peace. We read how the word “shalom” also translates prosperity, healthy, rest, wellness, welfare, happy and friendly in other portions of scripture.
Fear is a fundamental human experience in a fallen world and a fallen world is the only world we are born into. As Christians, we don’t have to live in denial of fear for that only gives fear more power. Nor do we have to succumb to it. Fear has a way of effecting and redirecting our worship for it tethers us to something that begins to determine our lives. -A.T. Hargrave
This peace we read about here in Isaiah 26 is actually the Shalom peace of God. Shalom speaks of the fullness of God’s blessing in the earth, which is more than just a basic idea of peace. We read how the word “shalom” also translates prosperity, healthy, rest, wellness, welfare, happy and friendly in other portions of scripture.
Words are meant for more than mere communication. God uses words to create. He created the fabric and existence of the entire universe with his words. Jesus came to open the dialogue between each of us and our God. It was as if the Father said, “I’d like a word with you” so He sent His Word, Jesus to come and initiate a conversation at his table. When we are engaged in conversation with God our lives and the world around us is transformed.
Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places to pray. This is totally understandable as he was talking to God His Father. Jesus came as a man to demonstrate a life we should aim for and prayer is certainly an integral part of that life as we are CREATED FOR CONVERSATION. But then we find Jesus risen from the grave and seated at the right hand of the Father continuing to pray as the Bible says he is seating in heaven praying for us (Rom 8:34).
Tracy and I were recently sitting in an airport and a conversation emerged with a man sitting near us. As we began engaging in conversation, I found myself listening to what he said but also listening to what God might want to say to me about him or to him. By the end of our conversation we all agreed it was a divine appointment that God had orchestrated.
The Center for Bible Engagement polled more than 400k people from ages 8-80 examining how often they read their Bibles. Their goal was to discover frequency but they realized they were discovering so much more. They began exploring the different degrees of impact reading your Bible has in your life depending on how often you do so.
