Have a blessed Easter everyone!
“And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” -2 Corinthians 5:15
Have A Blessed Easter!
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Tag Archives: Religion & Spirituality
{Post from the Past} God’s Grid – By: Janaya Richards
Most Christians want to be pure and live a life that is honoring to God. We want our minds to be clean and our hearts to be right; but our hearts are “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) If we can’t even understand our own hearts, how can we possibly keep them clean?
The answer is, we can’t – at least, not by ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit guiding us and helping us. According to Psalms 19:14, “The words of [our] mouths and the meditation of [our] hearts [should] be acceptable in [God’s] sight.” But, the world we live in is full of junk! How can we keep our hearts and minds clean? We need a filter. The Bible gives us a perfect filter. Philippians 4:8 says,
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever thing are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are just, whatever things are commendable, whatever things have a good report, if there is any excellence, and if there is any praise, think about these things.”
Use God’s own Word as a filter for your heart and mind. Don’t let anything into your life that can’t pass through the grid of Philippians 4:8.
Hymn of the Day – Grace Alone
Grace Alone – By: Scott Wesley Brown and Jess Nelson
Every promise we can make,
Every prayer and step of faith,
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.
Every mountain we will climb,
Every ray of hope we shine,
Eyery blessing left behind
Is only by His grace.
(Chorus)
Grace alone which God supplies,
Strengh unknown He will provide,
Christ in us, Our cornerstone,
We will go forth in grace alone.
Every soul we long to reach,
Every heart we hope to teach,
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.
Every loving word we say,
Every tear we wipe away,
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.
Happy 4th of July!
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” (Ephesians 3:12 ESV)
May we remember who paid the price for our ultimate freedom.
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV)
Clean Your Room
Recently I had the amazing privilege of taking a “missions exposure trip” to Detroit with my youth group. We visited 5 different urban churches and ministries, and talked with each pastor/missionary about his specific goals, challenges, and motivations. Although each session was incredibly instructive, one pastor shared an idea that has been changing my entire perspective on witnessing. He likened Christ’s Great Commission – “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (Matthew 28: 19-20) – to a Father’s command: “Clean your room.”
Imagine if your dad told you, “Go clean your room.” Inspired by such a great idea, you gather 6 or 8 of your closest friends to brainstorm “cleaning bedrooms.” Your brother mentions a great book he enjoyed, so you immediately read Cleaning Your Room: Conquering the Challenges of Your Chore …as well as 4 other straightening bestsellers. Truly stirred by your studies, you decide to post a facebook status about your new mission, and you encourage your sister to clean her bedroom as well!
The next day, your Father comes back to you and asks, “So, did you clean your room?” A bit embarrassed, you are forced to admit that No, you never actually got around to straightening your bedroom. Do you think your dad would be impressed?
So often we get sidetracked planning to whom, where, when, and how we’re going to share our faith; just go do it! Don’t talk about obeying – Go obey!
Summer is here!
Summer is here! And i know what you are thinking! Beach, Ice cream, Sun, Friends, Rest, and Fun Fun Fun! Certainly those are things im looking foward to too! But how would a Summer surrendered to the Lord look like?? 
I found wonderful quotes in setapartgirl.com that i think apply too all of us!!
I pray that both you and I, would have a wonderful three months being pleasing to Him!
1. Thinking of others
“Spending the summer months in a worthy manner is easily achievable and does not necessarily mean radical elimination of pool-time. Turning outward is simply the Christ-driven, purposeful act of shifting our gaze from ourselves to those around us..” Maybe is just helping out in your home of helping your neighbors but seeking for ways to minister to others is an opportunity to follow Christ’s example and show His love! Because Jesus poured out His life for us!!
2. Being Purposeful
“For many of us vacation is a time to sleep-in every day, eat whatever we want, and do whatever sounds like fun.But if we have given our life to Christ, every aspect of our lives belongs to Him. Even during a break from school, we must choose to put God first…keeping a consistent routine with sleeping, eating and excercise is a discipline that needs to be maintained- even in the summer.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies). I know its easy to put pour guards down but if we are called to obey the Lord , we should obey, no matter the season or the weather!
3 Spending time in the Word.
With all this extra time, one of the best things we can do is spend extra time reading and learning about our God!
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
*All quotes above can be found in setapartgirl.com issue for this month and belong to Leslie Ludy and her faithful writing team.*
Verse of the day- Power
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
(Romans 1:16 ESV)
The gospel is not only powerful but it is God’s power for salvation. The gospel is real, alive and it can change people’s lives. Wow. That’s why Paul was not ashamed of it, because He saw what the gospel could do and because the gospel was not from Paul but it is from God Himself… Praise the Lord!
Verses of the day- The Love of God
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
(1 John 5:1-3 ESV)
His commandments are NOT BURDENSOME. There is true joy in obeying His commandments!!!! They are meant not to be burdensome for us! Praise the Lord!
Not Successful, Only Faithful
Many Christians find reasons not to share the Gospel. We often make excuses because we’re scared. I totally understand: giving the Gospel can be a scary thing! Why might we be afraid to share the Good News? Perhaps we don’t know how to start or what to say. Maybe we’re afraid to “mess up” the Scriptures.
In reality, though, usually our excuses are much less noble than ‘concern for God’s Word’. Usually we refuse to tell others about Christ because we don’t want to look stupid or be rejected. Simply put, we are more concerned about our reputations than sinners’ souls.
I have used almost all of these excuses at one point or another, but recently the Lord has been changing my mind. He’s been showing me how important He is a
nd how desperately people need to hear about Him. This week I’ve been witnessing to a friend of mine, and I have realized for the first time the Benefits of sharing my faith. As I’ve been searching the Bible to answer my friend’s questions, my faith has been strengthened; I am reminding myself what I believe and why I believe it. I’ve also been a bit convicted how little of my Bible I know; searching the Scriptures for just the verse I’m looking for reminds me how crucial it is that I know my Bible thoroughly.
I won’t say that my old excuses are non-existent; in fact, they are very near to me. I am a bit nervous that I will lose my friend; I’m still kind of concerned about my reputation (unfortunately). However, by sharing God’s truth with an unbeliever, I am being faithful to God’s command. My pastor once said, “God does not call us to be successful – only to be faithful.” Even if my friend never talks to me again, she will have heard the of God’s saving grace.
We can only control our actions: will we share the Truth or not? God controls the outcome.
Pray for Chardon Highschool
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This Sunday, please join Tri-County as we pray for Chardon Highschool, the students, and their families. The prayer service will be held at 2946 Burns Rd. in Madison, OH (right behind Madison Highschool).
