Andrew Murray III. Psalms 62: 5.–My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. The solemn question comes to us, “Is the God I have, a God that is to me above all circumstances, nearer to me than any circumstance can be?” Brother, have you learned to live your life having… Continue reading WAITING ON GOD
Month: June 2009
THE SELF LIFE.
Andrew Murray II. Matt. 16: 24.–If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. In the 13th verse we read that Jesus at Caesarea Philippi asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” When they had answered, He asked… Continue reading THE SELF LIFE.
CARNAL CHRISTIANS.
Andrew Murray I. 1 Corinthians 3: 1.–And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. The apostle here speaks of two stages of the Christian life, two types of Christians: “I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”… Continue reading CARNAL CHRISTIANS.
Signs of Faith. 1John 2:5-6.
How do people know that we are Christians? There is a well known hymn, and bible verse that declares that, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” It’s true, people should know us by our love above anything else. People can still know in other ways, both for the things we passively, and actively do.
It Starts with Jesus. Galatians 1:4-5
He continues his description of the power and authority that Jesus has by saying that he gave Himself for our sins, To put it in slightly different words, he himself was a gift that covered our sins. The first part of his gift wasn’t too unusual, he died. People died all the time. But that is only the first part. His death was his act of taking on the burden of sin. The real power is what he did next. He overcame sin and death, and that power that allowed him to do that restored his own life. But wait! There’s more!
The Value of Your Faith. 1John 2:3-4.
Is your faith real? Do you say one thing and end up doing another? To paraphrase Paul, ” the evil things I don’t want to do is what I end up doing, and the good things I want to do never seem to get done.” It can be difficult to do the right things, loving others, showing tolerance, and lovingkindness to those who need it. The best of Christians fall short.
Foundations of Marital Success. Ephesians 5:33
To be in a marriage is a matter of mutual love and respect. All through the preceding passage, from verse 21 through33, it talks to the husband more than the wife. Both are told to basically love and respect each other. It is one thing to have an attraction, or a passionate emotional love for another person. That love soon fades, and real love has to be worked toward.
The Purpose of a Marriage Defines It. Ephesians 5:31-32.
It’s a mystery, but it happens every day. It’s so natural, yet so strange. Some where today, right now, a man and a woman are meeting, becoming attracted to each other, leaving the security of their families and coming together to be on their own. It’s the natural order, and design by God.
Complementary Parts, Not Equal and Opposite. Ephesians 5:30
In the big picture of God’s kingdom, and spiritual matters, where do we fit in? As Christians, we are his very own body. His own flesh and blood. In Revelation there is a mention of Christ returning on a white horse. In it we have a snapshot of his head, on top of a body that is clothed in garments drenched in blood. We are that body that is paid for, clothed, and drenched in his blood. The bride that he is coming for is the remnant of faithful ones of the body of Israel.
Love is for Marriage. Ephesians 5:29
Nobody ever hates his own body. Sure, we are some times depressed, or certain people have thoughts of suicide. More often though, people will go to great lengths to preserve their own life. People endure hardships at the hand of extreme situations. Surviving a plane crash, or a shipwreck, or some other crisis of life and death. The desire to keep living is strong. Even Christians with the assurance of being in heaven have that natural desire to remain alive. As much as we punish our bodies, we still love them enough to take care of them.