9/17/09

Good morning everyone. Todays text is listed below.

John15:17-16:4


17This is my command: Love each other.

The World Hates the Disciples
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'[b]
26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16
1"All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

We need love and support from each other as Christians because we will be hated by eveyone else. Jesus commands us to love everyone because he will give us strength to do it. Jesus once again offers hope. The Holy Spirit will give us everything we will need to go out into the world. If you are ever facing persecution, remember this. The Holy Spirit ministers to both our head and our heart, and both are important dimensions. We need to follow Christ's focal command in this scripture: Love one another.

A main point to remember:It's all about him. The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the Glory of God. His glory is the expression of his goodness and all his other intrinsic, eternal qualities. Living for His glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives. We are commanded to recognize his glory, honor his glory, declare his glory, praise his glory, reflect his glory, and live for his glory because God deserves it.We owe him every honor that we can possibly give.All sin, at its root is failing to serve God. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that will cause us to fall. When anything in creation fulfills it's purpose, it brings glory to God. The glory of God is a human being fully alive. We bring him glory by worshiping him.Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving him, and giving ourselves to be used by him. We bring God glory by loving other believers. Following Christ is not just a matter of believing, but also belonging and learning to love the family of God. We bring glory by becoming Christlike. He wants us to grow to spirtual maturity which is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. We bring glory by serving other people with our gifts. God did not give us our gifts for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for our benefit whether it be a talent or money or extra time. We bring God glory by telling others about him. Once we know the truth, he expects us to share it with others.

Living the rest of your life for the glory of God will require a change in priorities, schedule, relationships, and everything else. It will mean that you sometimes have to choose a difficult path instead of an easy one. If you remember, Jesus had to do the same thing. Will you live for your own goals, comfort and pleasure or will you live the rest of your life for God's glory, knowing that he has an eternal reward for you. God invites you to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he has for you.Everything else is just existing. You must commit yourself to Christ. If you are unsure of whether you have done this or not, you just have to recieve and believe. Believe God loves you and made you for his purpose.Believe that he has built you for a realtionship with him.Believe that he sent his son to die on the cross for you. Believe that God wants to forgive you, no matter what you have done.The second thing you must do is recieve Jesus into your life as your personal Lord and savior. Recieve his forgiveness,and his spirit. Wherever you are reading this, I invite you to quietly bow your head and whisper " Jesus I believe and reiceve you". You are now ready to discover and start living God's purpose for your life. If I can help in anyway, my email is bcain2188@hotmail.com I'm not a preacher but I do know some good ones. I will even be glad to pray for whatever is bothering you. Feel free to contact me at anytime.

Romans 11:36 (New International Version)

36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Lord, you are so holy. All glory be to you. Remind me to recieve and believe you daily. Thank you for the many blessings and friends that you have allowed me to have at this time. Everything belongs to you. Lord I pray for those with physical ailments that they may be healed. I pray for the homebound that someone will go to them and comfort them. I pray for the elderly in the nursing homes that if they don't know you, they will be transformed. I pray for our soldiers that are fighting for our freedom and pray you will give them an extra layer of protection. I thank you for all the great things you do. Lord please show me your will for my life, so that I may serve you better. Teach me your ways. Forgive me of my sins for I am not worthy to enter your kingdom. In your precious name I pray....amen