clabudak

A tent is temporary (like our lives on Earth) and it is very basic with no frills compared to a house (which we'll have in Heaven) which is so superior compared to the tent. Christians should always look forward to our great reward which is Heaven! And we should strive to take as many unsaved with us as we can by telling them the good news!

As we grow older physical deterioration happens and we realize that life will end someday and the reality of eternity hits us. So much of life happens without too much deterioration (people are in good health and young feeling, having families, working, etc) and death seems so far away that eternal things aren't important to them. It's easy to push eternity aside and focus on temporal matters. But, we must focus on eternal things so that we can grow spiritually. We must strive to love God with all our hearts and to love others as Christ loved. The only way to do this is to purposely read our Bible daily, pray constantly as best as we can, connect with other Christians, and be a blessing and not a burden to the unsaved.

It encourages me to know that Paul went through tremendous stress and pressure and he was able to lean on Christ and his faith to get him through the rough times. If he could do it, I can do it too. He is a role model for me. And he left writings of his tough times so that I can read about them and take his exhortations and teachings to heart when I have rough spots to go through. The way we as Christians conduct ourselves through trials reflects Christ to the world. Do we act like the non Christians? Or do we act differently? Do non believers see a reason to want to become a Christian by the way we act through tough times? Pain is necessary for spiritual growth because it helps us draw close to Christ and helps give us the skills to help others when they go through similar situations.

The treasure is God which is located inside of the fragile vessel of clay which is the human. The paradox is that weak humans have the supernatural power of the God of the universe living inside of them!

There is always hope for the lost or why would Christians have a mission from God to spread the gospel? Christians must pray and intercede for the lost and be open to divine appointments to spread the good news of Christ. It is always in God's timing and not ours that results will happen. We must always be in prayer with God and be a team with Him for results; without intercessory prayer, it won't happen.

We are ambassadors of Christ to the world. When Christians are caught doing unethical things in their personal lives or in their ministries, the world judges them and the Christain faith which directly reflects on Christ. Paul's alternative is to be completely truthful in absolutely everything.

As we spend time in God's presence, the Spirit gently begins to mold us and change us into the likeness of Jesus. The more time we spend there, the faster the change occurs. This process of maturing is called sanctification. I am continually changing and do notice it! God is doing a marvelous work in me because I want Him to change me and I live for that change. I want to be more like Jesus!

We can get our "glow" by drawing close to God as much as possible during our waking moments. By praying, singing, reading our Bible, thinking on God, doing good for others, loving ourselves as Jesus would love us. By meditating on Scripture we put the very words of God into our hearts and they become part of us. God lives inside of us through His Word--His Scripture. The amount of "God Glow" is directly related to the amount of time we spend each day with Him! I increase my glow by daily Bible study, being a blessing and not a burden at work, and singing Christian songs in my car and at my computer as much as possible, and loving my family as much as I can!

We need the Holy Spirit to be able to discern spiritual matters. Without the Spirit's guidance we are blind. God invited us to come to Him and the Spirit tugs at our hearts to accept God. With God's invitation we make our decision to come to Christ and salvation. After we are saved the Spirit is our guide to help us through our lives to become more like Jesus and learn to rely on God for all our needs.

Moses' face glowed because when you are in the presence of God you can't help but be changed somehow! Moses' shining face also authenticated his message from God. Moses covered his face when he was out with the people so he could prevent the people from seeing more than they could handle. People's face would only glow if they were in the actual physical presence of God and no one was invited to that but Moses. There's really no difference between the spread of God's glory in Mose's time and our time. It's done the same way--through word of mouth and actions, through prayer and repentance.

When you are involved in a ministry, you are around other like-minded Christians. Fellowship goes on. Ministry happens and you fulfill Jesus' command to love others which gives you spiritual health because it gives you a purpose to your life. It's a winning situation. If you drop out of church, you set yourself up to be attacked by Satan and the world. You become weakened because you are hearing the Word anymore or around like-minded people. You have isolated yourself and weakened your position. Strength comes through daily prayer, regular church attendance, fellowship with like-minded people, and ministry. You isolate yourself and the world of non-believers stays the same size.

What is the balance between the need for training in ministry (either in the local church or in schools) and personal submission to the Spirit of God? Training is important so one has a good foundation in the scriptures and it needs to be balanced with personal submission to the Holy Spirit. This way God give guidance and direction for His will. It's the most healthy combination. Are you able to “listen to the Spirit’s voice” in your own life? I hear that still small voice in my everyday life. I wish I would listen to it every time I heard it! Why would this ability be so important in being a competent minister? The Spirit's voice is giving us the will of God. God is speaking! God is telling us the right way to go! To do anything else is foolish.

In what sense are we “living letters”? I live each day with the prayer that I am a blessing and not a burden others. This way people see Christ in me and might be drawn to ask about Him. In what way can people “read us”? Our actions and our attitudes speak volumes as to what is in our hearts. Why is it so important to be authentic, not phony, in our lives? People can detect phoniness a mile away. If we want to win people to Christ, we need to be authentic and love people as Christ loved people one person at a time. What happens when people “read” something in you that they admire and mention it to you? How might you respond appropriately? I hope that I would respond that it's not me and that it is Christ in me that they see.

When we know God and reflect the spirit in our daily lives, people who are open to God are drawn to the joy and peace that we radiate. It is like a spiritual magnet to them. People who are closed to God find our closeness to God repugnant and weakwilled. The spiritual magnet works repels them. I don't suppress my Christian fragrance; I am who I am. I have just as much right to be me as they have to be a non believer.

Satan gets a foothold in a person who holds on to unforgiveness. He loves that they become bitter and become worldly many times. They think they are still Christians but their actions are far from it; maybe they are severely backslidden. I've seen it in my family. Their lives are a mess. All because of tightly-held-onto unforgiveness. Unforgiveness has robbed them of the joy of a spirit-filled life. Their life can almost hit rock bottom when they let unforgiveness run their life. By not forgiving others you in essence say that you are higher than God, because God does forgive. This is sin. Holding on to unforgiveness only hurts the one who is unwilling to forgive; it doesn't hurt the one who supposedly did the wrong. The only healthy thing to do is to repent, be humble and give it to God and let God heal the hurt. Move on.

Obedience to servant leaders who are prayed up keeps the body of Christ healthy and moving in the direction that God wants it to go. If these leaders are self-serving, the church will suffer sooner or later. We are called to be obedient to those whom God has placed over us in the Lord as long as what they are asking us to do lines up with the Holy Spirit and the Bible. Church unity is directly related to obedience. If you have factions within a church with parts agreeing and parts disagreeing with the leadership, the church will be torn apart. Satan will win in destroying it. Obedience and unity is imperative for a healthy church to combat the enemy.

To "lord it over someone" is to make it clear to them that you hold absolute power over them and they have no say whatsoever in anything that affects them. Only you do. The best leadership style doesn't micromanage and doesn't allow a laissez-faire atmosphere to happen. Leadership is a combination of respect and the allowance for the human aspect of different styles of working. The best leaders have a servant attitude and heart. The dangers of a weak leadership style is the inability to be able to keep people working within the rules and guidelines. Rules are in place for safety and efficiency and fairness to all. Chaos can happen without fairness to all.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives signifies that God has set His seal of ownership on us and has guaranteed us eternity with Him. The Spirit unites us with God with His presence in every moment of our lives helping direct us in the way God would have us go. The promise of future blessing in the Spirit's presence is eternal life.

Paul asks people to pray for him because it's scriptural! 1Tim 2:1,1 says, "There, I exhort first of all that supplications of, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men . . ." All Christians are called to be intercessors. God commands it and to not pray for others is sin (1Sam 12:23)! Jesus prayed for people when He was on earth and even when He was on the cross. We have to follow Christ's example to intercede for other people both saved and unsaved. Because Jesus closed the gap between us and God when He died on the cross, we can now intercede in prayer on behalf of others asking God to grant their requests according to His will. True intercessory prayer seeks God's glory, not our own. I pray for others on a routine basis because I have seen the results of intercessory prayer in my own life and how other people's prayers for me in times of trouble has greatly helped my situations.

When we face a harrowing crisis, we usually know we can't fix it by ourselves. We must humble ourselves and ask for the Lord's intervention. This is just what God wants! He wants to be involved in our lives and helping us! He wants us to know that He is our Rescuer and our Redeemer in times of trouble. God gives grace to the humble and strength and courage and wisdom to face anything. With God on our side we can face anything. All we need is humility and some fear of the Lord and get rid of all personal pride and we can become very effective servants of God.

I know that when the going gets tough, God is right there with me through the whole mess. I know that everything that I am going through is going to be making me a better women of faith; it's going to mold me into a better representation of what Jesus wants me to be--if I let God lead the way and I get out of His way. This comforts me. In my daily personal life, I let God lead and I follow. My motto is "whatever Lord". I try hard not to do things my way. And I find comfort that God has my best interests always in mind. When others are going through bad times, I share this with them. I share with them that God never leaves them and uses all things for their good because he loves them more than they can ever know.

Hi Everyone! My name is Cathy and this is the first time I've done a Bible study on line. I'm looking forward to learning a lot in a different way using the internet instead of a traditional in person bible study. It's fun to try new ways! I have been a dedicated Christian for over 30 years; I love the Lord!! I have studied the Bible diligently for several years and have read through the complete Bible once. I love learning!! I am from Rocklin, California which is a stone's throw away from Pastor Wilson's home town! I look forward to the forum.