Into A New Person

Do you know who your life belongs to? Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 12:1-2 (New Living Translation)

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

OK...so how do you do that? The answer is in the next verse:

2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Knowing God's will for your life starts with giving your life to Him


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God's Idea of Church

Here's God's idea of church.

Ephesians 4:15-16 (New International Version)

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Christ is the head. We are the body. That's church.


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Chaos Promise

God's promises aren't designed to calm the chaos, but to calm our doubts in the midst of the chaos.

What are you more aware of right now?

Calm?
Chaos?
Promises?
God?
Yourself?
Someone else?

Can you find peace in the storm right now? Maybe you need to connect with someone else who can help you find the peace.

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Opposition

If GOD has called you to do something, don't be surprised when opposition shows up. Duh!

Look to Jesus!

“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you won't grow weary & lose heart”
Heb.2:3

Don't Give Up!

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Outstanding Stats Update

There goes another marker... I never imagined this. I guess I just did not dream very big or compounding. Here are the astounding new lines we have crossed:
7 continents
56 countries
43 US States
10 Canadian provinces
57 cities in Ontario
474 cities world-wide
20,388 downloads of podcast materials.

Just blows my mind.

Provision. Share what you've got. Bless someone around you or across the world.


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Forgotten Fondness

Ephesians were known and celebrated for doctrinal purity, social justice and perseverance. They did good things. They thought in good ways, BUT...:

"Yet I hold this against you: you've lost your first love"

They lost the why.

Why do we do all that we are called to do? Religion? Habit? Fear? Apathy? Love? Honour? Devotion?

Jesus provides this teaching again and again while he was on earth. It is not the gift, but how you give it. It is not the prayer, but how you offer it. And here again, it is not your right theology, but why right theology is important. It is not theology in concept but in lifestyle that pleases God.

All these good things we do and think because they help us to display the heart of God in us, the heart of God for us and our heart stretching towards God.

Revelation 2:1-7

¹"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

So let us then live these things together that we might remind each other to not forget our first love.

Don't Give Up.

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Forgotten Love

Have you ever read Hosea? I mean, really read it? It's seriously intense, but there is no way that you can walk away from reading this book without feeling the incredible love of God for you.

Hosea 2:13-16 (New Living Translation)

13 I will punish her for all those times
when she burned incense to her images of Baal,
when she put on her earrings and jewels
and went out to look for her lovers
but forgot all about me,"
says the LORD.

14 "But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
16 When that day comes," says the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband'
instead of 'my master.'"

It's an incredibly beautiful, painful picture of Israel's relationship with God. And don't miss that when we walk away from God, it's a picture of us too.


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