oneDay

NO ONE CAN TELL YOU ANYTHING DIFFERENT

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:4-5

I was listening to David Crowder’s new CD, and on it is a song called "Everything Glorious". I was drinking my venti non-fat caramel macchiato when the song came on in my car. The chorus goes, "You make everything glorious and I am Yours, what does that make me?" That line hit me. The Bible tells us that God has created everything, and what He has made is very good. And if we are made by God doesn’t that make us very good? A lot of the time in this life, we have people and situations that makes us feel horrible. People can do and say things to us that will makes us feel like nothing, like your not important enough. There our trials in each of our lives that will try to bring us down and make us hate ourselves. So many people , when problems arise out of their control, beat themselves up. We convince ourselves that we are not important enough , that no one seems to hear us crying amidst the crowd. God has made you good, He has made you in His image. No matter what people do or say to you, always keep in mind that God is your father, He is the only one in life that will be there for you 24/7.

God is the only thing that you need to worry about. When bad things happen in your life remember that God has allowed it , and you need to remember how extraordinary you really are. Don’t let anyone, even yourself make you feel like you are nothing. No matter what circumstances arise in your life be ready to come back with , I am God’s and He has made all things good.

GOD WILL?

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 6:1-3

If you saw God's will for your life how would you know it was the real thing? That question can be a perplexing, yet a very important one for every Christian. Man was born selfish, wanting his own way. It's just a fact that we want everything for ourselves. Our desire is to do it all "our way." There was a very popular song written many years ago by singer Frank Sinatra, "I Did it My Way." Now while it may have been popular with a lot of people, it was likely not very popular with God.

Doing it 'my way' is definitely not God's way and as the verses in Proverbs explains to us, we can do a lot of scheming, plotting and plan making, but in the end guess what happens? God has the final say about how our life is going to go, how He will use us and how it is going to end. What is a key Biblical principle for this process to be effective for Christians? Being in the will of God. Later on in Proverbs we read in verse 20, "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord." This is clear evidence of what being in God's will provides us.

So how are we to know when we are following God's will in our life? Reading the Bible is one of the best ways to know what the will of is for us. The Bible is full of instruction and guidance on what God's will is for us. We need only to immerse ourselves in it, understand what it says and then apply it. Psalm 25 also sheds light on His will for us in verses 4-5, "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Our hope should be in Him always, then we will truly be in His will.

Finally, Psalm 16, verse 11 tells us "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." This verse is more evidence that God indeed has a plan for us, desires for us to be in His presence and spend eternity with Him, enjoying the pleasures of Heaven, simply by being in His presence constantly. If this sounds like the life you have been looking forward to, spend time seeking to be in His will and be assured of a place in Heaven with Him.

ONE NIGHT

NO DEVO??? WHAT!?!?!

OH, YEAH TONIGHT IS ONE NIGHT!

The one night a week that we all come together as a group and worship ONE GOD and Listen to his word together!

So, come out to ONE Student Ministries @ 6:30 !!!

We cannot wait to see you here!

A NEW BEGINNING

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste land. Isaiah 43:18-19

We all want to have a new beginning, a fresh start. Some of things we have encounter or went through has taken its toll on us. Some of us can’t even think straight. Some of us have gone through problems after problems after problems. Wondering when will this suffering and trouble end. Some of us have done things that we are not proud of. We made some bad decisions, we made some mistakes and we wish we could take it back. How many of you want a new beginning? A fresh start? How many of you just want to start over? God say to you today to forget the former things. The things of old. Forget your past. Forget those things for he is doing a new thing. As the year comes to a close. I suspect that some of you just want to have a new beginning. Some of you want to have a better year in 2008. Some of you have experience hell this year. Gone through so many things this year. I encourage you to speak it into the atmosphere and you will have what you say. Speak it, believe it, and you will receive it.

There is a song that I will leave with you. The words of this song say God will do a new thing in you, God will do a new thing in you. Whatever you ask for, whatever you pray for, nothing will be denied said the lord. Nothing is denied said the lord. My brothers and my sisters you can have a new beginning. Ask the lord for a fresh start.

COMPASSION

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:36

There is a great mystery in the world: Why do Christians, the keepers of the message of compassion, seem to be a bit compassion-deficient? I think the answer is simpler than might be expected. We don’t follow Christ’s example. Oh, we certainly try to follow his lead, and that’s why we fail. We are only following him halfway.

Jesus was as radical as could be when it came to sin. Clearly, he despised it. Many Christians have that part down, and the disapproving glances we send sinners’ way are the proof. But the difference is that Jesus saw the peril people faced because of their sin, and was moved with compassion by it. Jesus saw the masses as sheep without a shepherd, and knowing their ignorance (the cause of their sinfulness) he said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into His harvest.”

Since I brought up this enigma of the failure of compassion in many Christian’s lives, I suppose I should try to form an answer to the problem. We need to look at Christ as our example. Christians lack compassion because we see the sinfulness of the world and, like Jesus, we become angered. That’s the easy part. But we only go halfway in following Christ’s example. When He saw the world as sheep without a shepherd, his compassion stirred him to want to help.

ONE SMALL GROUP

Don't forget to come to small groups tonight. Click HERE to find out more information about small groups meeting in your neighborhood. Hope to see you there.

NO CONDEMNATION

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

To condemn means to pass an adverse judgment on; disapprove of strongly; to declare to be guilty of wrongdoing, it is the opposite of justification and of forgiveness.

Romans 8:1 tells us that those who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned. We as Christians are not servants to the penalties of our sins, but that the guilt and penalty have been removed at the cross. Therefore those who are in Christ Jesus, do not live under the constant threat of punishment by God.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could no do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:2-6

To be spiritually minded we have to have an attitude absent from defeat. Yes, we should try to keep the law but we have to remember that our flesh is weak and we are unable to keep the law; therefore the law does not have the power to justify, the law could not be our sin offering. That is why God sent His son Jesus Christ. Though He was sinless, He took on our sins. God provided our atonement by offering the person of Jesus Christ. He became our sin offering. What the law could not do, the Lord could.

“That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us” from verse 4. Means that we do not fulfill the law by walking in the Spirit instead of the flesh, but God himself fulfills the law In us when we walk after the Spirit of God.

The devil wants us to have an attitude of defeat. He wants us to forget that we are saved by grace through faith, and not of works. Don’t listen to him. Stop condemning yourself if you make mistakes, and you will make mistakes. You are no surprise to God. That is why He sent His Son. He already knew we couldn’t keep the law. That is why we all need Christ.

Be determined this Christmas to be free from a defeated attitude. Because when you condemn yourself then you are walking after the flesh, you are not in faith, your mind is on yourself. It separates you from fellowship with the Lord. But when you put your trust in God, you are walking after the Spirit and there is life. We have been freed from what we were held by, so act like it and it will be joy and peace to you.

DUNKAROOS

Above all..do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "yes" be yes, and your "no" be no, or you will be condemned. James 5:12

When I was in school , lunch was the highlight of the day. I believe I was in the 3rd grade and I sat next to my best friend everyday at lunch. As you all know snacks make the lunch, a sandwich can’t stand by himself, he needs his backup dancers aka snacks. My friend always had the best snacks. One lunch she introduced me to the amazing wonder , "Dunkaroo’s", for those of you who have no idea what a dunkaroo is I shall enlighten you. This amazing snack consisted of small cookies and a side of frosting, your choice of chocolate or vanilla. On the wrapper of the package was an awesome kangaroo dressed in green shoes and a backwards hat. Such a delightful snack! Anyways back to my story, after having my eyes open to the 8th wonder of the world, my friend promised me that she’d bring me in a pack the next day. I couldn’t wait!! I watched the clock all day waiting for the lunch bell, and it rang!! I went over to my friends desk and sat down next to her, she open ed her lunch box and only one pack of dunkaroo’s were inside. She said she was sorry she forgot to bring me a pack. I still cry about that to this day.

What that seemingly pointless story is supposed to get across is that broken promises affect the people around us. When we make a promise to someone that we will do something, we assure them that we will do what we say. That they can count on us to get the job done. The Bible tells us that we will be condemned if we break our word. Breaking a promise is almost the same thing as lying to someone. It could be as small as "I promise I’ll bring in dunkaroos at lunch", or something as big as , " I promise that I will be faithfully yours till death do us part." When you get married you are making a promise to someone. Your promising them that you will be loyal, you will love them, you will protect them, basically your promising to give that other person your life. Marriage is the type of promise that you just cant one day decide that its not what you want. Back in the Bible days you were stoned for breaking such a promise. Personally I think we should still install that rule. When you make a promise, big or small, your not only making a promise to another person, your making it in front of God. When you break promises it makes others not trust you, makes you look like a lair, and makes others loose all respect for you. God makes us tons of promises in the Bible, how would it be if God decided to not fulfill any of His promises? We wouldn’t trust or respect God. But God has kept of promise He has made to us. Promises are not to be taken lightly. Big or small. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

ONE NIGHT

NO DEVO??? WHAT!?!?!

OH, YEAH TONIGHT IS ONE NIGHT!

The one night a week that we all come together as a group and worship ONE GOD and Listen to his word together!

So, come out to ONE Student Ministries @ 6:30 !!!

We cannot wait to see you here!

SPANISH CLASS

However, he has given each one of us a special gift (of grace) according to the generosity of Christ.  Ephesians 4:7

Foreign language in school is just that to me, foreign. It is that inability to understand the words of a foreign language, whether it is Spanish, French, or German. Sometimes i find God's Grace just as confusing. How can he continue to forgive . . . God's Grace is Amazing, and hard to understand at the same time.   

When you come to God, everything seems like a foreign language.  How is it that He can accept someone as who is not perfect on the inside as me?  It’s all so confusing.  That’s where grace comes into the picture.  When it steps in, God is able to look past our mistakes and take us into His arms and freely love us.

  Grace does not come naturally to our human nature, but it’s so essential to our lives.   

Try to embrace grace today and extend it to others as God has done for all of us.