FAITH CORNER

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:49 am

EXPRESS YOUR FAITH HERE... cheers

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:57 pm

Thursday, September 25, 2008

“Those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:13

Jesus doesn’t say if you succeed you will be saved. Or if you come out on top you will be saved. He says if you endure. An accurate rendering would be, “If you hang in there until the end…if you go the distance.”

The Brazilians have a great phrase for this. In Portuguese, a person who has the ability to hang in and not give up has garra. Garra means “claws.” What imagery! A person with garra has claws that burrow into the side of the cliff and keep him from falling.

So do the saved. They may get close to the edge; they may even stumble and slide. But they will dig their nails into the rock of God and hang on.

Jesus gives you this assurance. Hang on. He’ll make sure you get home.

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:01 am

by Dr. David C. Cooper
Saturday, September 27, 2008

We all have to deal with anger. So, how can we resolve anger? Here are five important steps to get out of the anger trap:

Step 1: SORT IT OUT

Try to understand why you are angry. Remember, there is a difference between the normal irritations in life and a persistent state of anger.

Step 2: COUNT THE COST

One of the predominant causes of divorce today is negative behavior such as unkind words, abuse and constant fighting. One psychologist says that an angry confrontation can erase 20 acts of kindness. The point is, anger can cost us dearly if we do not keep it in check.

Step 3: LET IT OUT

Release your anger to God in prayer. Tell God how you feel. He can handle it. Then go talk about it with a friend. Or, even the person you're angry at, if you can do it constructively. Whatever you do, don't keep your anger locked up in your heart. Repressed anger visits in a host of emotional and relational problems.

Step 4: SET LIMITS

That means to control your words and behavior. God tells us to get a grip on our tongues: "When words are many, sin is not absent. But he who keeps a tight rein on his tongue is wise" (Proverbs 10:19). Don't cross the line of verbal or physical abuse no matter how frustrated you get. Don't justify or excuse such abusive behaviors.

Step 5: GIVE IT UP

As Christians, we do not have the right to remain angry. In Christ, we have given up that right. We surrender our anger to Him and forgive others as He has forgiven us. When we forgive, we are free indeed. Free from resentment, bitterness, and anger.

So, as we walk today through the mine field of relationships replete with misunderstandings, remember the word of God: "Be angry and sin not. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry (Ephesians 4:26).

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:08 am

Bishop E. Earl Jenkins

"You are one of them... Your speech shows it!" Mark 14:70 (NKJV)

You can try to disguise your identity by changing your looks, your social circle and your address - but how you speak will give you away every time.

Sponsor AdIt happened to Peter. When a servant girl saw him warming himself by the fire, she said, "'You...were with Jesus of Nazareth.' But he denied it...And the...girl saw him again and began to say to those who stood by, 'This is one of them.' But he denied it again...later those who stood by said to Peter again...'you are one of them...your speech shows it'" (Mk 14:67-70 NKJV). So in order to convince his accusers that he wasn't a friend of Jesus, Peter "began to curse and swear, 'I do not know this Man of whom you speak'" (Mk 14:71 NKJV).

It worked! After that nobody else accused him of knowing Jesus. Isn't it interesting how public profanity in any language, has a way of making others question the quality of your relationship with Christ?

Paul says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up...that it may benefit those who listen" (Eph 4:29 NIV). If you want to win people to Jesus, start with how you talk. Paul said, "Let your speech always be with grace...that you may know how you ought to answer each one" (Col 4:6 NKJV). Words are powerful things. They either build up or tear down, add to or take from.

It's not important that people can tell from your accent where you're from, but when they can't tell by the way you talk that you're Christ's disciple, something's seriously wrong.

**Psalm91 /me** · **Psalm91 /me** on Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:03 am

RELAX:
Many of us are overworked and overstressed. We need to rest our
bodies and our minds so that we can "fine tune" with ourselves, with
other people and with God. Take a break. Take a walk. Commune with
nature. See the sunset. Enjoy the moon. Close your cellular phone and
your beeper and just allow yourself to be open to the Divine. Let go.
Let things be. God is in charge. Experience the resting power of sleep
and rest. Smile at the sky. Walk the earth. whistle a happy tune, or hum
a favorite melody. Just thank God you are still alive.

REFLECT:
Find time to relax so you can reflect. Don't end up just
relaxing. Don't end up tired and empty because you were too busy to
relax and thus found no time to slow down and reflect. How long has it
been now since you have been in this world? What have you done? You have
work, but do you have a life? What is really important for you? What do
you still want to do or accomplish? How is your family and
relationships? And how are you relating with your God? Is there an area
in your life that needs to be healed? Is there excess luggage in your
heart? How would you like to be remembered after you are gone?
Questions. Questions. Allow yourself to be questioned by life itself.

REPENT:
We all fall. We all have mistakes and weaknesses. Accept your
limitations. Welcome to humanity! Be humble. Visit the "red light"
district in the church and make a good confession. Find time to say
sorry to people you may have hurt or just taken for granted. Make time
to visit, to write, to call, to text, to email anyone you need to say
sorry to. Is there one bad habit you need to give up? Is there one good
habit you need to take up? This is the time for soul-searching. Promise
yourself not to go back to the pit of selfishness and sin. If today you
hear His voice, harden not your heart.

RENEW:
Take time to recharge and just be filled up. Renew your contact
with God. Make the sacrifice of participating in church. Show your gratitude to the Lord.
Renew ties with your immediate family. Make yourself available and
vulnerable to them. Tell them in so many ways that you really care. The
world is not just you and your family. Reach out. Give and share. The
time to give is always now and it is never too late, never too much.
Make a generous donation. Go and visit a hospital, an orphanage, an old
folk's home or a sick person. It would be more wonderful if you can do
all these with your family. Renew your contact with yourself. Go over
old pictures, old letters and files and remember who you were and what
you wanted to be. Clean your room and clean your heart of all the
"could-have--beens" and "should-have--beens" and accept yourself.
Embrace yourself for what you are and what you still can be.

RESIGN:
That's right, resign. Resign from places and people which and
who do not bring out the best in you. Resign from vices and sins that
are slowly but surely eating you up. Resign from falsehood and
pretenses. Be true. Have substance. No more "japorms". No more "papogi".
Just give your best and God will take care of the rest. Resign to God's
will and God's plan for you and you will have peace, which the world cannot give or take away.

**Psalm91 /me** · **Psalm91 /me** on Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:13 am

SORT IT OUT Surprised

COUNT THE COST Shocked

LET IT OUT Sad

SET LIMITS Smile

GIVE IT UP Very Happy

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Fri Oct 03, 2008 4:57 pm

Friday, October 03, 2008

“This was God’s plan which he had made long ago; he knew all this would happen.”
Acts 2:23

Jesus died…on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way he dies. And the way Jesus marched to his death leaves no doubt; he had come to earth for this moment. Read the words of Peter. “Jesus was given to you, and with the help of those who don’t know the law, you put him to death by nailing him to a cross. But this was God’s plan which he had made long ago; he knew all this would happen” (Acts 2:23 NCV).

No, the journey to the cross didn’t begin on Jericho. It didn’t begin in Galilee. It didn’t begin in Nazareth. It didn’t even begin in Bethlehem.

The journey of the cross began long before. As the echo of the crunching of the fruit was still sounding in the garden, Jesus was leaving for Calvary.

**Psalm91 /me** · **Psalm91 /me** on Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:25 pm

Is purgatory real???

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:50 am

So far, I haven't read about it in the bible... I will read more and try to find out if there's any. bom

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:14 am

Friday, October 17, 2008
“Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.”
Luke 23:46 NKJV

As Christ gave his final breath, the earth gave a sudden stir. A rock rolled, and a soldier stumbled. Then, as suddenly as the silence was broken, the silence returned. And now all is quiet. The mocking has ceased. There is no one to mock. The soldiers are busy with the business of cleaning up the dead. Two men have come. Dressed well and meaning well, they are given the body of Jesus. And we are left with the relics of his death. Three nails in a bin. Three cross-shaped shadows. A braided crown with scarlet tips.

Bizarre, isn’t it? The thought that this blood is not man’s blood but God’s?

Crazy, isn’t it? To think that these nails held your sins to a cross?…

Absurdities and ironies. The hill of Calvary is nothing if not both.

- MAX LUCADO

**DWINX** · **DWINX** on Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:24 am

Pastor Ken Polk

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
Mark 16:15, 16

This passage of scripture is commonly known as "The Great Commission." Within this passage we see Jesus instructing His disciples to take the gospel message to the world. In doing so they were communicating their faith (what they believed) to unbelievers in an attempt to persuade lost men to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This charge wasn't for the disciples only, but for every born again believer in Christ.

The scriptures often speak to us concerning soul winning. I'm going to share two of those passages with you. The first is Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." The second, James 5:20 "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Jesus while on earth was the master soul winner, consequently, being His disciples we should be soul winners too. We should be willing to convey our faith to others. To become a soul winner I feel there are three essential character traits which must be evident in the life of the believer to effectively communicate his or her faith. Let's examine these three attributes.

1) You must have had a true born again experience:

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received." 1 Corinthians 15:3

Paul a true champion of the faith said, I first had to experience salvation to successfully communicate the salvation message to others. While journeying to
Damascus Paul had a spiritual encounter with God which changed his life forever. Having been quicken by the Holy Spirit, Paul went from persecuting the church to winning many souls to Christ. Often when sharing his faith he began with his conversion experience (testimony). (See Acts 26:13-19) This type of conviction does not come about by joining a church or being a church member. However, a person who has truly been born again will be eager to share his or her experience with someone else. Your testimony (how you came to know Jesus) has power. King Agrippa was almost converted to Christ after listening to Paul testify about how he met Jesus on a road to Damascus. Your conversion experience is an excellent way to share your faith.

2) You must be carful of the image you portray:

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God;" 2 Corinthians 3:2, 3

As the old cliché goes, it's not always what you say, but it's what you do. The life you live before people can cause your witness to be ineffective. The Bible consists of sixty six books. The believer in Christ is the sixty seventh book. Paul said we are a living epistle read by all men.

As people read your life story (the way you live daily before them) you are communicating your faith. As believers we are to be Christ-like. Simply, as we submit to the Holy Spirit who is now the motivating influence of our life, we begin to develop a Christ-likeness. Christians should not conduct themselves in a worldly (carnal) manner. We can't use profanity, smoke, and drink, hit all the hot clubs, and live ungodly before people, and the next day invite them to church. It just doesn't work.
When your life story is being read what do people see?

3) You must have a knowledge of the scriptures:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God." 2 Timothy 2:15

For one to effectively communicate his or her faith they must have knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Personally, I feel lack of knowledge is an area of concern within the body of Christ. We can't communicate our faith if we don't know or understand what we believe. People in other religions despite their doctrine being false are well grounded in what they believe. They will stand firmly and defend their faith. They are effective because they know what they believe in. The Christian faith has a
risen, living Savior name Jesus, and He is true and most believers have difficulty communicating the faith. Some can't even tell you how and when they were saved. Paul encouraged Timothy to study the scriptures. As Timothy grew in knowledge, he became a strong witness of Christ as he communicated his faith to others. However, the average believer doesn't study, so consequently, they are not an effective communicator of the faith. Remember knowledge is power. Knowledge of the scriptures will only enhance your spiritual experience in Christ.

As you go through the week take a self examination and see how you fit within these three character traits. Allow the Holy Spirit to mold your spiritual life into what it should be. We communicate our faith not only by what we say, but also by what we do. Are you a good testimony of Christ?

lady_jace · lady_jace on Fri Oct 17, 2008 4:24 pm

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered, and
that my life is fleeing away.”
Psalm 39:4

“I am here on earth for just a little while.”
Psalm 119:19

Life on earth is a temporary assignment.

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached . Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, “Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.”

Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporary living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You’re just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, “I am but a foreigner here on earth,” and Peter explained, “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth.”

Compared with other countries, life has never been easier for much of the Western world. We are constantly entertained, amused, and catered to. With all the fascinating attractions, mesmerizing media, and enjoyable experiences available today, it’s easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about. Only as we remember that life is a test, trust, and a temporary assignment will the appeal of these things lose their grip on our lives. We are preparing for something even better. “The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

The fact that earth is not our ultimate home explains why, as followers of Jesus, we experience difficulty, sorrow, and rejection in this world. It also explains why some God’s promises seem unfulfilled, some prayers seem unanswered, and some circumstances seem unfair. This is not the end of the story.

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We’re not completely happy here because we’re not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.

A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An eagle could never feel satisfied if it wasn’t allowed to fly. You will never feel completely satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you.

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, “Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? Why did I waste so much time, energy, and concern on what wasn’t going to last?”

When life gets tough, when you’re overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet. At death you won’t leave home-you’ll go home.

-The Purpose Driven Life
Rick Warren

FAITH CORNER

FAITH CORNER

Go the Distance

Steps Out of Anger

What Your Speech Says About You

A Moment With the Lord

Re: FAITH CORNER

The Journey to the Cross

IS THERE REALLY A PURGATORY???

purgatory?

Absurdities and Ironies

Communicating Your Faith

Life Is a Temporary Assignment