I am because God is. I love God, He is my Father, and the fact that He loves me too is overwelming. My course in this life is to worship God with all that I am and ever will be. FKI
This year, our fellowship set out on a mission: to grow past being just members to being ministers —based on Paul’s charge in Ephesians 4:11–12: “ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… ” It’s a verse I’ve read and taught with excitement for years. But recently, something about it has been stirring me, bothering me even. Not because it’s wrong—God forbid—but because maybe… we’ve read it with assumptions(Assumpta 😁🤦). And if we’re going to contend for the faith once delivered, I must confront mine. Let's keenly look into that line... Paul says: “Christ himself GAVE...” That’s past tense. Not “is giving” or “will give.” He gave —once. (You'll see why I use the word once when we get to Judas.) That tense raises a question: Was this appointment of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers a one-time act by Jesus while He walked...
Someone once joked and said that “Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.” No marriage, no divorce, right?😀🤦 But seriously, we live in wild times. People are marrying same gender, animals, themselves—even inanimate objects. And guess what? Some of these are legal in certain societies. But what did marriage originally mean? Biblically, it started with KNOWING 😉 — yes, sex. Adam saw Eve, liked her, and knew her. No priest. No parents. No papers. That got me thinking: when does marriage actually start? I've asked around — “ When did you get married? ” The answers are all over the place. To share a few, some say, “Wedding day.” Others, “When we paid dowry.” while others say, “When we started living together.” Again, is it either of them or some of them combined? But those factors didn't exist in Eden. So I turned to God with the same question. His answer? “ WHEN YOU COMMIT TO HER. ” Not when you sleep with her. Not when you sign papers. Not even when your guardians approve...
You know, the thin line between being a religious Christian and a relational Christian is so fine… you don’t even notice it until you’ve crossed it. And sometimes, you only realize it when the Lord taps your shoulder and says, “ We haven’t really talked in a while. ” 1. Religion Isn’t the Enemy. We’ve painted “religion” like the bad guy in some of our preaching. But James, the elder in Jerusalem, didn’t think so. He actually said there’s such a thing as pure and undefiled religion (James 1:26-27). " Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein(bridle) on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. " Religion, by definition, is your belief in the unseen. And in that sense, everyone is religious — Muslims, Hindus, atheists (yes, atheism is a belief system), ...
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