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Monday, 30 April 2012

  • Can We Subject God to Questioning?

    By Will Green

    Something that always perplexed me about the Book of Job is that it seems God doesn't consider Himself accountable to His creatures.

    From Wikipedia:

    God's speech also emphasizes his sovereignty in creating and maintaining the world. The thrust is not merely that God has experiences that Job does not, but that God is king over the world and is not necessarily subject to questions from his creatures, including men. The point of these speeches is to proclaim the absolute freedom of God over His creation. God is not in need of the approval of his creation. It is only the reader of the book who learns of God's conversations with Satan; Job himself remains unaware of the reason or source of his sufferings. The traditional interpretation is that, humbled by God's chastising, Job turns speechless, giving up and repenting his previous requests of justice. However, another interpretation is that Job's silence is defiant, and that what he gives up is not his belief that justice be done, but his confidence that God will behave justly.

    I don't mean that God has no good reason to allow suffering. God may have a fantastic reason. My concern was I didn't understand why we can't hold God to account. More Here...
  • On the Path to Perfection

    By Sharon at SheWorships

    This past weekend I attended the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing. I didn’t really know what to expect (it was my first “writers conference” in my life!) but my favorite part was, by far, connecting with other Christian women writers. Shout out to all you amazing ladies!

    One of the writers I FINALLY got to meet was Amy Julia Becker. You may remember that I’ve featured her here on my blog before. She recently came out with a memoir about her daughter, Penny, who was born with Down’s Syndrome, and I posted two excerpts from her book last Fall.

    Amy Julia’s book has received rave reviews, and even if this is a topic that does not seem immediately relevant to your life, I would still encourage you to check it out. Amy Julia has processed her daughter’s life from a profoundly theological perspective, and the conclusions she has reached are not only powerful, but applicable to us all. More Here...

  • What Does it Mean to Be a Christian? (Part Nine)

    I want to talk about grace. Grace is not something that I have understood very well, and I still really don't understand it. As far as I was concerned, grace was a cute term people used for the reason why God offers us salvation even though we don't deserve it. It is that; the offer of something we don't, and can never, deserve.

    We all know Ephesians 2:8-10, where we see explicitly that salvation is given by grace and through our faith, right? But I was already saved, and I knew that I couldn't have worked my way to heaven if I wanted to, so what more use for grace did I really have? The truth is, grace is something I need a lot of, and probably not something I have been very good at accepting from God.

    I still don't completely understand grace, but I do know that God's love is extended to us by it. Grace is the reason that God can continue to love a stupid, selfish, hurtful sinner like me, and love me just as I am. Even in my best version of myself, I am nothing that God should love me. More Here...

Sunday, 29 April 2012

  • Revelife Sunday Service: Christian (Part Seven)

    Today is Sunday, and all over the globe, Christians are headed to their local churches to celebrate and worship with one another.  We here at Revelife really hope you'll find a local church to attend today, but we also know there are circumstances that prevent you from making it to church on Sunday morning.

    That's why we feature the services of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.  Today, Pastor Andy Stanley will continue in the series Christian.  To many people, the term "Christian" is a loaded concept -- and not necessarily a positive one.  In this series, Andy is unpacking what it means to be a Christian, and his answers might surprise you.

    North Point's services are streamed online live at 9:00am and 11:00am with rebroadcasts at 2:00pm, 6:00pm and 10:00pm (all times Eastern).  We hope you can join us for a service today!

    If you enjoy North Point's services, you should know that there are North Point Strategic Partner churches all over North America.  Click here to see if there is one in your area.

Saturday, 28 April 2012

  • Tiny Arguments: Women in Ministry

    By Nic Don at Theopolitical

    Tiny Arguments is an idea I’ve had for a while now.  My aim is to create a repository of tiny arguments, expressing a view in as few words as possible, so that instead of establishing the same common ground in multiple venues, I (and hopefully others) can point others here and five minutes later continue the conversation in more interesting and profitable ways.  I will begin with my tiny argument for women in in ministry.

    I believe that God calls women to all roles within the church and equips women to both pastor to and teach all members of the church.  

    Why? More Here...

  • Marriage Poison

    By Sharon at SheWorships

    Out of the blue, one of my co-workers asked me an interesting question as we sat across from one another this week:

    “What brings you satisfaction in life?”

    That’s a big question that I was not at all prepared for, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. There are, after all, a lot of ways to answer it. After I gave it some thought I realized that the real question, for me, is not what brings me satisfaction, but what takes my satisfaction away.

    On the whole, I am very satisfied with my life. God has been oh so good to me and my husband! In addition to all we have in Christ, we have a wonderful marriage, a baby boy on the way, health, security, and so much more. God has been abundantly good to us, and I am beyond satisfied. I am overjoyed! More Here...

  • How Does God Treat my Heart?

    How does God treat my heart?

    That question should evoke a passionate answer, should result in my heart singing praises to Him because He has always only given love to my heart. Problem is, I'm way to busy trying to get my heart 'ready for God' to realize the kindness He has embraced me with, I'm so focused on myself that I don't ever hear the question.

    There is a story in the old testament when David and his men were on the pursuit of the Amalekites who had raided their homes and kidnapped their families. In their journey two hundred of David's men reached a point of exhaustion and could no longer travel, they stayed behind while David and the remaining four hundred men went on to find the Amelekites and rescued their families along with all the stolen goods that had been taken.

    On their way back they met up with those left behind, David's first words to them are - How are you doing? - A few of the men who battled and rescued the families were angry with those who stayed behind and said that because they did not go with them, they would not receive any of goods they retrieved from the Amalekites. David steps in and says "My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us." 1 Samuel 30:23. From that day on, the share was the same for the man who went to battle and the man who stayed with the supplies. More Here...

Friday, 27 April 2012

  • Lightning of the East: Extreme Cult Threats in China

    I want to begin this post with a question: do you believe Satan is active in the world today? 

    Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour“  1 Peter 5:8

    The following is a quote from a minister with first hand experience of one of the most Satanic cults I’ve ever heard of (originating out of "the far East"):

    This satanic cult, ‘lightning of the east’, is one of the most evil and deceitful cults I’ve ever seen in China.   They are positively wolves’ in sheep’s clothing; they attack Jesus Christ, twist and defraud the Bible, destroy families and lives, causing great hurt and destruction to Christians who have bought by the precious blood of the Savior!  They are devils dressed as ministers of light, workers of Satan, false prophets after the way of Balaam.  May the Lord have mercy upon the elect that they may be able to discern, to reject the lies and the deceitful words from Satan, May our brethren returning from ---------, be on the alert!  May those that were deceived quickly repent and return!

    This cult has various names, “The Congregation, Church of Almighty God, Seven Spirits Sect, New Power Lord’s Church, True Light Sect, or True Way Sect”, but it’s more common name is “Lightning from the East” or “Eastern Lightning”.

    More Here...
  • Why I’ve Never Been Baptized

    By Tom Zuniga

    Several years ago I watched my younger siblings do it. I’ve often wondered whether I would ever follow in their footsteps. Been questioned about it plenty of times.

    But I already have Jesus in my heart. I love Him dearly. He is everything; He’s the only thing.

    For nearly 25 years God’s will has superseded mine, despite countless stumbles along the way. I’m certainly not perfect, but I strive to do the right thing. To love people like God has inexplicably loved me. I believe in Him as sure as I do oxygen or the intoxicating smell of cinnamon buns baking in an oven. When all else fails, He never has, does, or will.

    I’m already assured of living with Him forever someday. What else is there? More Here...

  • A Rosemary By Any Other Name: Lessons in Deception

    By Dean Lusk

    I'm not above telling about the times I've done stupid stuff
    . An old post, Adventures in Yardwork, is a classic example of a story that might make you laugh at me and think about just how stupid I can be. Here's another (slightly longer than usual) story that may enable you get a chuckle at my expense.

    My dad came up with an incredible pizza recipe many years ago; before I was born, I assume. When I was a kid I spied on him when he made pizza so I could steal the proverbial "secret sauce" recipe. Only it wasn't proverbial -- it actually was secret sauce -- and I didn't "spy," per se. I just asked him what he was putting in there.

    Flash forward to the present, in which my wife and I are really getting into planting things and making food with fresh herbs, vegetables, and all that stuff. Not just because it's healthy (after all, chocolate chip ice cream with caramel topping is an evening staple for me), but food made that way tastes substantially better than it does when using dried spices or canned vegetables. More Here...

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