Thought For The Day

Religion is complicated, Christianity is simple. All you have to do is see what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees, Levites and priest. Religion is about ceremonies and pomp, and judging. Religion is about do's and don'ts, with condemnation attached. Christianity is about mercy, love, and having a Jesus heart. Being patient with others and giving of yourself. With Christianity we give of ourselves, Religion takes, Christianity gives. The good Samaritan story is a good example of how religious people act, and how those that know God respond to a need. Luke 10:30-34 A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing and wounded him, and departed leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by the other side. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where ...

  Isn't it irritating when we start to go somewhere and we are interrupted, by a phone call, or surprise visit, or a new problem? If  God directs our steps, and He does, we should learn to be patient, and ask God why the delay. It is possible God is protecting us from an accident or something unpleasant.  This happen to me once, when a passenger in my car was playing with a pocket knife, cut himself and I had to return home to get bandages.  Since we were a block away, we heard a loud crash, there had been a wreck right where we would have been. That knife cut was our protection, it was a delay. It's not what we want, but what God has planned. John 11:1-17 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of where Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, sa ying "Lord behold, he whom you love is sick. When Jesus...

  To be sanctified is to be set apart for sacred use and purposes in the kingdom of God. It is for the purpose to make one holy and productive. Beloved, this work in our life is sometimes painful, it causes us to see ourselves as we are, needing to be transformed.  To become more like Jesus. John 17:17  (Jesus prayer to the Father for His disciples) "Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth. Pray that God will give you a great hunger to know His word and study it. Beloved, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that will do the changing, you cooperate with the promptings in your heart to allow the sanctifying work to be done in you. Let go and Let God! You cannot change yourself, so quit trying, you will get tired and quit. It's God's work in you that must take place. Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ You must die to yourself and live for o...

  What does it mean to purify our soul? 1Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. We are told in God's word that if we are of a pure heart we will see God. Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Do you want to see God at work in your life?  Then keep a pure heart. A pure heart is not contaminated with negative, unforgiving, critical thoughts. How do we do that? By obeying God's word and keeping our faith strong. By remembering the sacrifice Jesus paid for you. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Faith grows as we come through our testing's and trials. Faith is important, it needs to grow. We all have a measure of faith, how big or small that measure is it does not tell us, but we do know it must grow and become strong to come through our trials. Faith is just trusting God and His word, so that we can have pure hearts....