Twitter Proverbs from Rick Warren

1. God doesnt bless most those who deserve it most.He blesses most those whoTRUST him most.Heb11:6 Its"byGrace thruFaith"about 1 hour ago from web
2. Sovereign Factors=God's choices 4u:parents,when&where born, talents,race,etc.But YOU CHOSE how much He blesses u.SeeMt.9:29about 2 hours ago from web
3. Ave.church=Only 10% of members serve in ministry,50%wont,But 40% say"Ive never been asked or dont know how" Go after them!about 6 hours ago from web
4. FUN 4NightOwls Ecc10:2 ISNT about politics"The heart of the WISE inclines 2 the RIGHT,but the heart of the FOOL 2 the LEFT"about 16 hours ago from web
5. Purpose Driven Life #2:PAUL “I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step" 1 Cor.9:26(NLT) Also Acts 20:24about 17 hours ago from web
6. PurposeDrivenLife #1:Jesus.At age12:”I must be about my father’s business” At age 33 “It is finished!” That’s PD!about 17 hours ago from web
7. Hab 3:17-19 is for your members out of work, staff layoffs, and your budget crunch during this recession.11:40 AM Aug 25th from web
8. "Even though...olive crops fail,fields lie barren,flocks die,barns empty-the Sovereign Lord is my strength!”Hab 3:17-19. Pass on!11:37 AM Aug 25th from web

Not only should we realize what Jesus did, but we should also remember~David McGee

John 19:31-42

31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.

33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.

36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."

37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.

39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
NKJV

Life Lesson

We need to realize what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Not only should we realize what Jesus did, but we should also remember. How quickly and easily we forget. Jesus knows this about us... that we do tend to forget. He knows how we are created and how we are wired.

Some of this forgetfulness can be an instrument of God's healing. Sometimes we forget pain that we suffered and trials we endured. But we also forget names, numbers, and sometimes birthdays and even anniversaries.

I got married on Valentine's Day and it helps that the stores put out hearts to help me remember. But we tend to forget (or not think about) the most important date of all and the event itself. The crucifixion. Communion is a time of remembering. Remembering what He did for us. He bled. He died. He took it when He did not have to.

Our job?

To remember.

That is why Jesus told us during communion to remember. Why? The sad fact is because He knows we might forget. Celebrate communion often. Do it at home, do it at work, do it with your parents and do it with your kids.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. NKJV

Throughout history we have had slogans like 'remember the Alamo' or 'remember the Maine'. Ours is simple. Remember Jesus.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee
Senior Pastor
Calvary Chapel of the Triad

Being "partakers of the divine nature" (without becoming divine ourselves) is a difficult concept to grasp~Bob Hoekstra

More on the Most Precious Promise of Shared Life

By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branchcannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neithercan you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are thebranches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears muchfruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (2 Peter 1:4 andJohn 15:4-5)

This promise of shared life is so "exceedingly great and precious"that we would do well to consider it further. Being "partakers of the divine nature" (without becoming divine ourselves) is a difficult concept to grasp. The Scriptures clearly invite us to live day by day through Christ sharing His life in us. "It is no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Yet, how to walk in this truth can seem quite elusive. In His teaching on the vine and the branches, Jesus provided a wonderful physical illustration of this tremendous spiritual reality.

Jesus' visible example involves actual grapevines, grape branches, and the grapes that can potentially result. For grapes to grow, the appropriate life source must be accessed by the branches. The grape branches do not have this life in themselves. "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself." In order to bear grapes, the grape branch must share in the life of the vine. "The branch cannot bear fruit… unless it abides in the vine." This can be irrefutably demonstrated by separating a grape branch from its vine. No grapes can ever be produced on the branches, if the life of the vine is not flowing through the branches. The life of the vine is essential.

The spiritual application specifies Jesus as the vine and us as the branches. "I am the vine, you are the branches." For Christlike fruit to develop in us, the appropriate life source must be accessed by us. We branches do not have this life in us: "neither can you [bear fruit],unless you abide in Me." This truth is lamentably demonstrated daily by Christians who live self-sufficiently, not depending upon the life that is in Jesus, the vine. "Without Me you can do nothing." Day by day Christian living is only possible by the shared life of Jesus at work through us.

Once again, we are reminded that humility and faith are the practical application for living as God intends. We must humbly depend upon Jesus for true fruitful living, just as grape branches must depend upon their vine for grapes.

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank You that I do not have to produce true life in and of myself. Teach me to live by Your shared life. I want to humbly and dependently abide in You, that You might live in and through me, for Your glory, Amen.

Leadership: Are you losing your right to lead? (81-3)~Barry Werner

Are you losing your right to lead? (81-3)

August 5th, 2009 in Character, Commitment, Courage/Risk-Taking, Judges, Leader Qualifications, Leadership Principles, Old Testament, Personal Development, Self-Discipline, Values | leave a response

Leaders will either develop self-discipline or lose their right to lead. Read Judges 16:1-20.

In The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Maxwell discusses “Self-Discipline, Samson Had It, Then Lost It”:

Discipline does not automatically make someone a leader, but no one can long remain a leader without it. More government leaders have failed from poor discipline than poor policies. More pastors have failed due to bad discipline than bad theology. More business leaders have sabotaged their careers from lack of discipline than by lack of cash flow.

Consider the following list of disciplines that followers want in a leader:

1. They want to see character in their leader.
2. They want to observe competence in their leader.
3. They want to witness compassion in their leader.
4. They want to sense commitment in their leader.
5. They want to feel connection to their leader.
6. They want to make a contribution with their leader.
7. They want to see contrition in their leader.
8. They want to join a cause with their leader.
9. They want to observe consistency in their leader.
10. They want to feel confidence in their leader.
11. They want to sense courage from their leader.
12. They want to spot conviction in their leader.

How to Build Convictions in Your Life

How does a leader become disciplined? Scores of books try to answer that question, but let’s underscore here the spiritual dimension of discipline. Spiritual discipline begins when a leader develops personal convictions, those principles we live and die for – the values that guide our life. This is our starting point. Convictions come when…

1. We have studied and learned what God’s Word says on a given issue.
2. We choose to apply and obey the Word of God in everyday life.
3. We have exposed ourselves to a need.
4. We meditate on specific truths over a period of six months to a year.
5. We have decided what is worth living and dying for.
6. We associate with people who possess convictions in the same areas.
7. We settle an issue before we are forced to do so.

Why not make a list now of those principles you most believe in? Then ask yourself: Am I disciplined in those areas? If not, begin to build convictions there first!

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Tags: Character, Commitment, Compassion, Competence, Confidence, Consistency, Conviction,Courage, Self-Discipline

« Is your strength your weakness? (81-2)

Why do so few Christian leaders finish well? (81-4)

This is the key: let each one of you esteem others as being better than yourself~Jon Courson

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
	Philippians 2:3-4
This is the key: let each one of you esteem others as being better than yourself. How does that happen? By simply realizing that every single person around you, that every single person you meet is better than you in some way or at some thing than you are. And once we look into their lives and explore who they are, we must conclude, ‘It’s a privilege to know you. I have no right to look down on you. You’re better than me.’ My natural, carnal mind doesn’t work this way. My carnal mind wants to find fault with the person next to me so I can feel better about myself. But Paul says just the opposite: Go around school tomorrow and look at every other student as being better than you — and treat them accordingly. And as you begin to develop the mindset that you’re privileged to be with everyone around you, the result will be joy. But it can’t be done apart from dependence upon the Lord day by day, moment by moment. It’s a challenge — and yet it’s something we can choose to do. I believe verse 4 is really the key to verse 3. I will esteem others as better than myself to the degree that I listen to their stories and explore who they are — for if we knew the secret hurts and pains and suffering of even our chiefest enemy, we would find all of our animosity evaporating. If we looked into people instead of down on people, we would be filled with compassion for people.

Faith and obedience are travel companions heading to the same “destination”~Charles Stanley

Travel Companions: Faith and Obedience

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READ | 1 Kings 18:1-15

Faith and obedience are travel companions heading to the same “destination”—namely, to please and glorify the Lord. You cannot have one without the other. They grow simultaneously as they are practiced, but will wither if neglected.

Elijah was a man with both of these qualities. He believed God and consistently responded in obedience. When the Lord said to show himself to King Ahab, he didn’t permit fear to stop him. He had learned through experience that the Father was faithful and trustworthy.

Fear short-circuits faith when we begin to doubt that God’s way is really best. If we allow worry to gain a foothold in our minds, we’ll respond by refusing to do what the Lord says, which is disobedience. The result will be a change in our “travel plans”—by rejecting the way of faith and obedience, we’re actually choosing the path of unbelief and sin.

Satan loves our fear and disobedience because they hinder the journey that God has designed for us. We can’t believe the Lord for great things in one area of our life if we are allowing sin in another. Self-examination is essential in the walk of faith. Where have you compromised by allowing sin a foothold? Are you resisting anything that God says in His Word?

Great faith begins with small steps. When you choose to follow God’s Word, an ever-increasing cycle of faith and obedience will begin. Don’t let fear or sin rob you of the great adventure He’s planned for your life. Who has a better track record for choosing the right path—you or God? Believe Him!