live2bless

I have a couple of quotes for you to think about, and what I did with them is transport the principle they highlight into the Christian life.  So let me give you the quote as is, followed by my modification. The first quote is by Chuck Colson: He wrote, “The best way to reduce crime is not to react after the fact with punishments and rehabilitation but to discourage it before it happens by cr...

Here are some thoughts to reflect on: For sin to succeed, temptation must succeed. For temptation to succeed, deception must succeed. For deception to succeed, I must believe a lie. Where a lie is believed there is bondage. Where there is bondage there is inner turmoil–– Your feelings reflect what you believe. Only Jesus can show me the lie I've been believing. Only Jesus can speak the truth to my...

In the light of the stunningly beautiful emphasis in the Bible on God’s amazing readiness to forgive us all our sins, it is truly a shocker when we read that in this instance he will not forgive us. Listen to Jesus’ warning: “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive y...

During the Old Testament reign of King Jehoshaphat we read that on one occasion he was confronted with a large army coming against him and the people of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-17 (NIV) we read, 1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the...

1 John 1:7-8 — “…If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us ." The Apostle John here highlights two realities that seem to me are essential for a heart to heart fellowship among believers: a shared submission t...

John 15:17 — "These things I command you, so that you will love one another." Everything Jesus commands is in the interest of mutual, self-sacrificial love. Take every commandment that Jesus gave and fast forward it to its intended result and you will find love for one another. For that matter, it is inconceivable that Jesus should say or do anything that doesn't have love as its root, trunk, bran...

1 Timothy 1:5-9 (NIV) "5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that...

“ You shall have no other gods before me. " (Exodus 20:3) That is the first of the Ten Commandments and being the first one no doubt suggests that it is the most important one. What does it mean? Consider this: Since God is love, as the apostle John records, (1 John 4:16) to put God first in our lives would be to put self-sacrificial love first in our lives. To submit ourselves to God is to submit...

One of the biggest words in the Bible pertaining to all that God wants to see happening to us is the word “ transformed .” It is the word used to describe what Jesus experienced on the so-called “Mount of Transfiguration” where we read that Jesus “was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:2 This same word then appears in Ro...

Forgiveness is perhaps the most selfless action we can agree to in the universe. How so? It requires totally relinquishing our take on stuff and seeing another person purely through Christ's eyes — their unspeakable preciousness to him — and then letting Him forgive through us because, frankly, only Jesus ever truly forgives. And we do it for His sake — we are getting out of the way so that one mo...

Romans 13:8-10 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”   and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Lo...

The Scriptures are clear that God alone possesses perfect wisdom: In Daniel 2:20 we read, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.” Therefore, it follows that God alone always knows what’s best at all times, in all things, for everyone. The amazing thing is is that God has not left us without recourse whenever we need wisdom for some perplexing situatio...

Here’s another definition of love: to love is to live committed — at all costs and at all times — to another person's complete and ultimate wellbeing. God, by nature, is like this. This love is intrinsic to Him which means He cannot be or act otherwise. God makes this commitment to all His creatures and it is a natural expression of His character. Even when God chooses to pour forth His wrath, it...

In James 1:2-4 we read, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  (NIV) Once we've made up our minds regarding a God-given assurance or a promise He's made, any "testing" regarding...

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said to his followers, “go and make disciples of all nations.” Then in Acts 1:8 (NIV) we read Jesus’s instructions to his disciples just prior to his ascension. He said to them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Note this overarching assignment gi...

Here’s what I consider to be a wholesome exercise in what could be called setting another person free. What I mean is this: when you think of another person, what exactly do you think? What do you see? Generally we see a portrait made up of our opinions of that person. We see who we think that person is. But try this: look at someone while you blank out all your thoughts and impressions of that in...

Read 1 Corinthians 13 In all our life’s relationships, we are either committed to living a life of God’s love, so that God’s love is what’s increasingly motivating us in all contact with others, or we are living a life of self-regard and that’s what’s motivating us in our contact with others. The human default mode of existence is a life of self-regard. We are born that way. Paul: “I put away chil...

In John 3:19-21, Jesus taught the following: “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplish...

Jesus said … “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” …“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5:17,19,20a Consider this definition of love: To love someone is to work with Jesus to create...

“I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:32 For love to exist in God's creation freedom is a given. Essentially it is the freedom to repent and choose love over against self-centeredness. Choose love— other-centeredness towards God and all creation — and God goes to work to make that person an extension of his life. Choose self-centeredn...

Jesus said, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” Mark 7:15 How you react to some foolish thing you or someone else did or to some nasty thing that happened to you is what is actually either dangerous or beneficial to you over against what actually occurred. The incident itself doesn’t do anything. It sits idling...

Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  John 5:39-40 (NIV)  So why were the Scriptures given to us?  Not to think for us. Not to provide us with good advice. Not even to give us a plan of...

Psalms 34:17-19 (NIV) 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. ” ********** Let’s first of all define what a “righteous” person is. And here’s a definition that I think fits...

Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV) 1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. While working on...

Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV) — 7 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Have you ever considered the virtually limitless control God gives you over your future in these words? I’m not referring to control over your future cir...