What does it mean to "relax" in God's love? Let me explain this. I chose the word "relax" intentionally because what's the opposite of relaxing? Working. God is saying you don't have to work for God to love you. You don't have to earn God's love. Growing up, we all grew up with conditional love. We got conditional love from our parents, our partners, our pals, our profess...
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What does it mean to make Jesus Lord over your life? The good in my life, the bad in my life, the ugly in my life, the secret things in my life. I turn over my past, my present and my future. I give him reign in my finances, in my relationships, in my health. In every area. I turn everything over to Jesus. Romans 10:9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe ...
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Yesterday, I wrote about what happens when we see things in our life through a lens of fear. Let me contrast that with what the Bible says happens when we start to live our lives seeing everything by faith. How do we do that and what difference does it make in our life? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SEE WITH EYES OF FAITH? Six things. I could give you two dozen but let me just g...
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What are the benefits of really believing in Jesus Christ? What does it actually mean to really believe in Jesus? I could give you fifty benefits, but let me just give you four. These four will cover the major areas. FOUR BENEFITS OF BELIEVING IN JESUS 1. EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DONE WRONG IS FORGIVEN. Everything I've ever done wrong is forgiven. Because of what Jesus Chri...
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I want us to look at what happens when we see with eyes of fear, rather than with eyes of faith. A good example of this is in the Old Testament in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 13 and 14. Here is the background of Numbers 13-14; Moses has led the nation of Israel to freedom. He's got them free from Pharaoh and the Egyptians; they've crossed the Red Sea. They've been travel...
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If I were to ask you what you considered to be the most common emotional pain in our society, what would you say? Depression? Anxiety? Guilt? Sociologists tell us that the most common emotional pain in our society is loneliness. Loneliness is near the top of almost every list. When we think of people who fear loneliness we almost automatically think of someone who is sin...
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In Jesus' most famous sermon, the sermon on the mount, he says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Notice the word "righteousness" and the word "filled." In a lot of translations word "filled" is replaced with "fully satisfied." They're going to live a satisfied life. They're going to live a fulfilled life. But you've got ...
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What is God's plan to make you righteous? If righteousness is the only way to live, if righteousness is the only way to heaven, how does God make you righteousness? It's called the Gospel, and there are three facts. 1. I can't make myself righteous. We're all imperfect, we've all blown it, we've all sinned, we've all made mistakes. I don't measure up to my own standards...
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We all have people in our life that just irritate us. How should we respond when someone is being annoying? We are called to be patient with people's quirks. Their peculiarities. Their mannerisms. Their odd behavior. Their irritating habits. You know what I'm talking about, right? We show love when we don't get irritated or impatient with people's personal quirks. And we...
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There are people in your circle, people who live on your street that nobody wants to hang out with. People who you work with that everybody tells the joke behind their back. They may have those quirks. Or they may have a different lifestyle. Or they may have a different belief system or a different religion or dress differently because of their culture. They're not in th...
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There are billions of people on this planet right now, and there's not a single one of them like you. Every one of us is completely different. We're all unique. God does not make copies of anything. God does not reproduce identical people. Even identical twins are different in many ways. You could search all of history, every human being that God has ever created before us...
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Yesterday, we talked about how God has shaped us on purpose for a purpose. You are an origional, and there is no one else on the planet. God shaped you for a time such as this for a reason. The SHAPE qualities are: Spiritual Gifts Heart. Abilities. Personality. Experiences. But, today, let's look primarily at why it's important to know my shape for my job. Why is ...
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God never meant for you to go through life on your own. God says, "I didn't intend for you to go through grief by yourself." If you are trying to carry it all yourself, you're carrying a load that God never intended for you to have. When something bad happens to you and you say, "I'm not going to tell anybody about this. I'm going to keep it a secret. I'm going to keep it ...
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Some of you are at the Dead-end right now. There are certain dead-end words in life. Cancer. Divorce. Bankruptcy. Infertility. Unemployment. How do you know when you're at a dead-end? Things get out of your control and you can't do anything about it. You're at a dead-end. So, how should you respond when faced with a dead-end situation? What do you do while you are waiting...
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Did you know God does not bless self-reliant people? He blesses people who are dependent upon him. Lots of people think the phrase "God helps those who help themselves," is in the Bible. No, that's not in there. God helps those who depend on him. He helps people who are surrendered to him. He blesses people who are submitted to him. What are you expecting God to do in yo...
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Jesus says that being spiritually connected, it's like being attached to a vine. It's interesting that Jesus, right before he goes to the cross, he says this in John 14, 15, 16. He's giving his last minute instructions to the people following him. Of all the things he could tell them, here's what he says. John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cann...
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The most basic truth of Christianity is this: Jesus Christ paid for my sins on the cross. You must simply ask Him for forgiveness and accept His forgiveness. Your forgiveness is not based on what you do, it's based on His grace, His mercy, His love. I don't know what you've done. But I do know what Jesus Christ has done. What He's done is greater than what you've done. W...
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