Does Jesus want your words or your heart?

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. - John Bunyan

Does God owe me anything?

“If I know God owes me nothing but punishment, I should never get in his face about anything.” – John Piper

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“God saved you by His grace (gift) when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:8-10

You gotta check out this site!

If you are like me, there is no doubt you have tough questions about Christianity, church, Jesus, and well everything really. If you want to hear some really good answers, from real people, then you gotta check out this site!

http://www.christianityexplored.org/

 

The Father's Cup: What did Jesus endure in your place?

http://audio.sovgracemn.org/2010/04/02/the-fathers-cup-a-crucifixion-narrative/

 

Are you free?

The gospel is the only power that can set us free because the gospel keeps our focus on what Jesus has already done, not what we must do. -Tullian Tchividjian

What are you chasing?

Whatever you're chasing, if it isn't Jesus, when you catch it you still won't be satisfied. -Lecrae

Ready for a challenge?

Would you like to do something more than mow lawns, play video games, and sit around this summer? Would you like to be part of a high energy, high impact Teen Leadership Conference that will equip and motivate you to be the person of influence (leader) that God wants you to be? If you answered ‘yes’, then I encourage you to check out this link: http://www.bbc.edu/tlc/ and let me know you would like to attend!

Stop picking on others, and pay attention to yourself!

 

 

Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, and you and me

 

Tuesday April 19th, 2011 – Permalink| Spiritual Growth

 

From: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/

 

 

I always used to associate the expression, “falling from grace,” with major acts of sin. Enormous failures. Significant falls.

People who fell from grace were people like Ted Haggard who lost his church and nearly lost his family after admitting to a homosexual affair after years of speaking out against homosexuality.

Or Tiger Woods who had an affair that cost him his family and tens of millions of dollars.

Or Charlie Sheen who…well, pulled a Charlie Sheen.

So falling from grace was where you had an affair. Cheated people. Engaged in an addictive behavior. Melted down in public. In general, had some kind of an enormous moral failure and lost everything. Your reputation. Your family. Your livelihood. In the case of Charlie Sheen, your sanity.

That’s what I used to think. And if you were honest, it’s probably what you associate falling from grace with as well.

But we’re both wrong. That’s not what it means. The true definition is astonishing. And infinitely more threatening, convicting, and relevant to most Christians than the stories of the men above.

If you go back to where the phrase comes from in the Bible, here’s what you read:

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4).

Crap. Ted, Tiger, and Charlie can no longer be our punching bags.

I understand why they are. After all, they’re easy targets. They warn us of the danger of falling into sin and ruining our lives. And if we’re honest, they make us feel better about ourselves. But here’s the truth: Most Christians aren’t in danger of pulling a Charlie Sheen or a Tiger Woods or a Ted Haggard. We’re in danger of something far more deceptive and equally offensive to God.

And that’s living as if we have no need of His grace. It’s assuming that because we’re not Charlie, Tiger, or Ted, we’re closer to God, even if only by an inch.

Let me be clear: this isn’t one of those “we’re no better than Charlie Sheen” posts. I hope to God your life is better than Charlie Sheen’s.

It’s more of a reminder that even if you read your Bible everyday and now have it memorized in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and the 1611 KJV.

Even if you never have an affair.

Even if you live a life that makes the Pharisees look like cat-strangling, coke-snorting, Wiccan worshippers.

When Jesus comes back and every knee bows and every tongue confesses that He is Lord, your head won’t be one centimeter higher than Charlie’s. Or Tiger’s. Or Ted’s. Or anyone else’s.

The quickest way to fall from grace is to think that there is an ounce of your life that isn’t dependent on it. Every step that you take to be acceptable to God in your own effort apart from Jesus and the cross is actually a step away from God.

Don’t fall away from grace. Ted needs it. Tiger needs it. Charlie needs it.

But so do you. And so do I.

Do Christians have to have it all together?

I'm not a Christian because I'm strong and have it all together. I'm a Christian because I'm weak and admit I need a Savior. - Lecrae

Grace

You can't live life as per God's design without grace any more than you can choose to defy gravity or decide to live underwater. – Paul Tripp