And
whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.—Colossians
3:23
There is an important difference between doing something for people and doing
something for God. God always deserves our best effort. People will disappoint
us, betray us, neglect us, and mistreat us. Some will constantly ask for what we
can giv
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Now
I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is
lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church.—Colossians
1:24
Ministry is costly. When the heavenly Father wanted to save His creation from
sin, He could find no other way except the sacrifice of His Son (... Read more »
We
proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may
present everyone mature in Christ.—Colossians
1:28
Discipleship is personally transferring the full dimensions of your
relationship with Christ to the person you are walking with. It is not the
imparting of spiritual disciplines as much as it is acquainting another with a
Person you love. Paul said that he
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"I
am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go
out and find pasture.”—John 10:9
As Christians, we talk about God "opening doors” to us as a means of His
revealing His will. What we are asking God to do is engineer our circumstances
to match what we think would be best. The problem is that we misunderstand what
the door is. Jesus said He is t
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Jesus
told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”—John 14:6
If you are walking daily with the Lord, you will not have to find God's
will—you will already be in it. If you are walking with Him in obedience day by
day, you will always be in the will of God. The Holy Spirit's role is to guide
you step by step to do God's will. Walking closely
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"I
assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains
by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop.”—John 12:24
Some things must die in order to be productive. Certain seeds will not
germinate into a plant unless they freeze during the winter. Jesus knew that His
death would bring salvation to the world.
Carefully
follow [them], for this will [show] your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of
the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, "This great
nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.”—Deuteronomy
4:6
Wisdom is not what you know about the world but how well you know God. Human
reasoning will not make you wise. It may even lead you to reject th
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After
singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.—Mark 14:26
Praise is greatly honoring to God! In the Old Testament account of King
Jehoshaphat, God's people faced a seemingly insurmountable enemy who was
determined to destroy them. Yet God assured them that they would "stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord” (... Read more »
"But
after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”—Mark 14:28
God never sends you into a situation alone. He always goes before His
children, as He did with the children of Israel when He led them with a cloud by
day and a pillar of fire by night. You do not serve as His advance troops in a
foreign and hostile situation. He always precedes you in any
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