What Separates a Life of Victory from a Life of Despair?

I may not always understand why things happen the way they do. I am human and I get really discouraged sometimes. Sure, I have my moments of despair. Everyone does. There are two very different types of people, though. Some people live broken lives of utter despair. They are miserable and usually make the people around them feel miserable. Despite having a saving knowledge of Christ, they are beaten down by their circumstances.Yet, there are others who, despite everything that life sends their way, always manage to overcome and come out on the other side with a smile on their faces and an even stronger faith. What is the difference between these two types of people? There is a difference between having weak moments and dwelling on them. We may visit self-pity sometimes, but  we should not live there as one who has no hope. There are some very key things that we must do to affect change in our lives so that we re living the way Christ intended - abundantly. Let's take a look.

The Internet As an Effective Tool for Spreading the Gospel

I have been seeing more and more people debating the virtues of the internet as a means of spreading the Gospel of Christ. So much so, that I decided to go ahead and breach the subject here. There are several ways to argue that people can be saved on the internet and that it is an effective tool for spreading the gospel. I haven't heard any arguments against. What do you think?

This is where I stand - I truly believe in my heart that the internet is an effective tool for reaching the minds and hearts of humankind. Satan uses it very effectively in a variety of ways, including spreading pornographic filth and creating the opportunity for the affairs that destroy families. Why shouldn't this valuable resource be reclaimed by God's people? 

Weeping for What Was Lost

2 Chronicles 36:14-21

"Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem." - v14

          Throughout the ages, it seems that God's people have always been surrounded by cultures that were desperately wicked. While I know that this is probably so that others may come to know Him through the example of His people, but it is truly difficult to live in close proximity with other people without absorbing some of their attitudes, traditions, and ways of thinking. That is what happened to Israel in this passage. They had begun to live the way others lived and broke God's commands, which were intended to protect them and to set them apart as holy - God's own posession.

His Precious Jewel - A Godly Perspective on Suffering

"'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.' Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." - Malachi 3:17 -18 NKJV


       When this life verse was given to me by a dear friend with the gift of prophecy, I was just a child. She spoke to me regarding some other things which I will not speak of now, but these verses have been my lifeline and what I cling to during my darkest hours. When I was younger, they seemed beautiful and mysterious - a promise that I was, indeed, special to Him. As I have gotten older and sought the Lord's wisdom, I am learning the true nature of what it means to be one of God's jewels.

To El Shaddai

 I trust You, Father, because I know You love me. I know this because You show me every day.

Sharing in the Broken Bread

"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'" - Luke 22:19 NASB
       As we partake of holy communion, the loaf of bread is blessed and broken, symbolizing Christ’s body being broken on the cross. He was broken and died that we may have life. Christ asks us to remember the sacrifice He made, but He wants us to do more than just remember it. He wants us to share in it.

Secret Servanthood

‎"Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'" - Mark 9:35 NASB 

      

       Though there is nothing wrong with competetiveness, it (along with almost everything) can ...become a bad thing when taken to extremes. Balance is the key. Today, we live in a dog-eat-dog, destructively competetive world. It has become not only acceptable, but expected for people to annihilate the competition in order to climb their way to the top. In such a society, how can we combat having destructively unbalanced levels of competetiveness? What does real servanthood look like?

Dirt Always Rubs off on Clean (Well, Almost Always...)

       Recently, during a class discussion, my professor made the comment that dirt always rubs off on clean things. That is why people who were considered to be unclean were not allowed to be present with the general population in the Israelite culture. If someone who was considered clean touched someone who was considered unclean, the clean person would become unclean also. He or she would remain unclean until such time that the criteria for being considered clean were met and a ceremonial cleansing was performed. This idea of uncleanliness infecting what was clean is pivotal for understanding the spiritual implications of the passage of Mark 1:40-45 ~~~

"And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.' But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere."

In My Father's Lap

"Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me." - John 15:4 (Amplified Bible)