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The search for options pertaining to the Christian life

2011-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

During one of our Tuesday night youth group meetings, the teens were given a task of reading through Romans 12 and finding all the options pertaining to the Christian life. We called them options because we must choose whether or not to follow. We all agreed that since God's holy word the Bible said it then we must strive to follow them every day of our lives.

Here is a small part of that ten minute investigation done by the teens of OCBC.

Romans 12: 1-21

1. Be willing to give your all for God.

a. Be holy and acceptable

2. Be not conformed to this world

a. Renew your mind

3. Be humble and sober

4. Work together with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters

5. Because we are all one in Christ.

6. We all have different gifts

a. We are one body in Christ

7. Make sure our faith is proportion to what we teach

8. Everything we do needs to be done truthfully through the modest and humble example of Christ

9. Have everybody stay away from bad, cling to what is good

10. Be kind to other Christians

11. Not lagging in diligence

a. Fervent in spirit

b. Serving the Lord

12. Rejoice

a. Patient in trials

b. Pray

13. Hospitality

14. Bless them that persecute you

15. Having Empathy with others - the ability to identify with and understand somebody else's feelings or difficulties

16. Be of the same mind

a. Do not be wise in your own opinion

17. Do not repay evil with evil

a. Be honest in all things

18. Live peacefully with all men

19. Do not avenge

20. Show good to enemies

21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

How do you view Life?

2011-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Recently their have been some killings that have rocked our nation and the way we think.

I think back to the time of 2011 when so many people died by the hand of mad men. I hear of men in our armed forces coming home from the war in the middle east where they battle against people that strap bombs on women and children and send them into crowded places. I recently heard of a crazy man that killed two sisters. How about the millions of unborn "BABIES" that are being killed by so called doctors.

We constantly hear of people dying from the hand of a murderer.

Then we see pictures of people crying. I just saw a video of a young man that witnessed the "Safe way massacre" (so called.). This young man couldn't stop from crying.

My thought and question is why do we cry or show an emotion when things like this happen? Why do we even care about what happens to others?

According to what we are taught in the secular schools, we are just an animal. We are just part of the evolutionary chain. Evolution teaches that things continue to evolve into something better. But what I hear and see is that man is not getting better. Man continues to do bad things toward one another.

Is there even an answer, is there any hope? Not if you follow modern day secular scientist. Not if you follow the government. For these are just people, who are not perfect either.

If we follow what the Bible says about the value of life then there wouldn't be any murdering or hate.

In Psalm 139 - It says that "we (humans) are fearfully and wonderfully made." In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) it says that we are "made in the image of God."

If we would look at others the way that God looks at us then the murder rate would go down - guaranteed. Jesus even said that hatting a brother was the same as murder.

So how are we going to view human life? The way that evolution views it, that we are just an animal and that the survival depends upon the fittest among us. That is what Hitler believed. He believed in evolution. He took it so far as to decide who lives and who dies.

If we view life that way then who cares who dies. But if we view life the way God does, then human life is special and that life is a gift from the Creator. So how do you view human life?

How do you view the Creator? He created everything good, but sin corrupted what was good and now death has become our enemy.

How about today you look to Jesus, the Creator, the Savior, "the author and finisher of our faith". He alone will save you from the enemy - our sin that condemns us to death (separation from the Holy God).

Mark Cahill - No Crossing over

2010-04-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Are there verses in the Bible about HOPE?

2010-01-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

THE ANSWER IS YES!

· Verses of HOPE!

o IN God

§ Psalm 39:7

§ 1 Peter 1:21

o In Christ

§ 1 Corinthians 15:19

§ 1Timothy 1:1

o In God’s Promises

§ Acts 26:6-7

§ Titus 1:2

o In the Mercy of God

§ Ps. 33:18

o Is the work of the Holy Spirit

§ Romans 15:13

§ Gal. 5:5

o Obtained through

§ Grace – 2 Thess. 2:16

§ Patient and Comfort of the scriptures

· Psalm 119:81

· Romans 15:4

§ The Gospel

· Col. 1:5

· Col. 1:23

§ Faith

· Romans 5:1-2

· Gal. 5:5

2009-11-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, 'Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?' She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, 'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.'

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister......' He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: 'Are you Jesus?' Do people mistake you for Jesus?
That's our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.
Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Please share this.... Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know...Thanks

What Consumes You!

2009-10-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

What Consumes You!

What is important to you? What makes you get up in the morning? What is your motivation for doing whatever you do every day of your life?

These are questions that most of us don’t even consciously consider day to day, but in reality we should. As you grow physically and spiritually, more opportunities will come along that will test your motivation for your daily decisions.

Recently my wife went to a funeral of a very close relative. This death was especially sad because they were not a believer. They were a good moral person but they had not made the most important decision that can be made. That is to accept the free gift of salvation.

Are you motivated to share this free gift with others? There are so many times when the Lord gives us opportunities and we brush them aside saying “ next time, I am to busy right now”, or “what do I say”. You might only have one opportunity.

As a believer when you are lead by the Holy Spirit you open up yourself for amazing opportunities to be a light in the darkness.

Matthew 6:20, 21 say “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….” and “..where your treasure is there your heart will also be”.

Looking back to the questions that we started with, is the answer to those questions something that could be laid in heaven? Remember that what you treasure the most will consume you.

I pray that you will make living for God no matter what the cost your treasure and in doing that, the Word will come alive to you. It won’t just be words on a page, but it will be heart changing and life changing.

by: Chad Greenacre

A Lesson From the Past

2009-10-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

I believe a storm unlike anything America has ever seen is on the horizon. A change is coming that found its footing and fruition in a new administration and an already very corrupt Congress. It is in the past that I think we can find our for boding future.

Think about it. What in the world is going on? As a nation we have incredible technology and amazing advancements in every field. We have for the most part the best of the best. Even with all of that something is missing. Like a cake without a key ingredient, the taste just isn't right. For the most advanced nation in the world to be approaching implosion should be a cause for question if not alarm. If we suddenly become ill we call the doctor to diagnose the problem. If the check engine light pops on we don't ignore it and assume everything is alright. And yet, while many are concerned about about the direction that our government is heading, I have only heard one person in the national media mention the solution.

At the end of the book of Judges we find the nation of Israel in one of her bleakest and darkest periods. The nation had reached the low point of rejecting God's leadership through a king. They wanted none of it and sought to do it their own way. We read in 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." As a result of rejecting God everything was falling apart. Eventually God brought Israel's own enemies in to drag them into captivity so that they would willing come back to Him. Throughout the Old Testament any time God's chosen people cut Him out of their lives trouble ensued.

In the New Testament we see what happened when a group of people rejected God. In Romans chapter one we are told that "although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing them selves to be wise they became fools." Out of this rejection of God came twenty two characteristics of a society that rejects God. You can find these listed in verses 28-31. While this was written a long time ago it certainly sounds like a contemporary description of America.

What has happened? First we took prayer and Bible reading out of our schools, then we made the wholesale murder of our children a legal and acceptable practice. In recent years calls have come from some in our own Congress to remove all of the verses of Scripture from our government buildings. We've outlawed Christmas carols, Nativity scenes, any mention of God and now we are printing money without "In God We Trust."

Is the coming storm anything like what Israel went through? If so we are headed for some major changes. Is it too late to reverse things or is our course set?

Evidence for a Young World

2009-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here are fourteen natural phenomena which conflict with the evolutionary idea that the universe is billions of years old. The numbers listed below in bold print (usually in the millions of years) are often maximum possible ages set by each process, not the actual ages. The numbers in italics are the ages required by evolutionary theory for each item. The point is that the maximum possible ages are always much less than the required evolutionary ages, while the Biblical age (6,000 years) always fits comfortably within the maximum possible ages. Thus, the following items are evidence against the evolutionary time scale and for the Biblical time scale. Much more young-world evidence exists, but I have chosen these items for brevity and simplicity. Some of the items on this list can be reconciled with the old-age view only by making a series of improbable and unproven assumptions; others can fit in only with a recent creation.

Check out these evidences on the answers in Genesis website - Just go to this site!

http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4005.asp

Falling into a nightmare of reality

2009-06-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is for those that didn't make it last Wednesday night.

Will You Stand Firm?

In Genesis 39 Joseph the son of Jacob has just begun a journey into the unknown, all on his own. No parents, no friends. We remember that his brothers hated him mostly because of the love their father had for Joseph. They took they anger out on him by selling him to a band of slave traders.

Joseph finally wakes up from this bad dream of his brothers throwing him into a pit and then selling him (like he was one the many sheep that his father owned), to find himself in another bad dream. He woke in the pagan empire of Egypt.

Joseph was sold and bought again by the captain of the Pharaohs Guard. His name was Potiphar. In chapter 39 verse 2 its says - "And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was prosperous." God wants to bless our lives but we need to first be obedient to Him. Joseph as we will see was obedient to the heavenly Father.

Catch the continuation of the decisions that Joseph had to face in Egypt. Remember he was a teenager when he was first sold.

Rachel Scott

2009-05-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

"I lost all my friends at school. Now that I've begun to 'walk my talk', the make fun of me." Rachel's journal entries shower her disappointment that the very people whom she wanted to show Christ's love turned away from her. But she wouldn't give in.

"I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus. I will take it. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend, Jesus, then that's fine with me. I always knew being a Christian means having enemies, but I never thought that my friends were going to be those enemies"

Rachel was a student at Columbine High school on the day two students opened fire in the school. One gunman asked her if she still believed in God. She look him in the eye and said yes. she still believed. He asked her why, but he didn't let her answer before killing her.
Rachel Scott passed her test, and because she did, her light reached beyond her school to around the world. Long before the test came, Rachel expressed her willingness to give her all for Christ. The words from her journal, written exactly on year before her death, tell about her commitment. "I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will."

That all happened in the great U.S.A.

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see you goods works, and glorify you Father which is in Heaven."

Are you ready for the extreem?

2009-05-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just as Pastor Li Dexian began his sermon, the doors of the house church burst open. Armed officers of the Chinese Public Security Bureau poured into the room, threatening everyone present and grabbing Li to arrest him.

"Wait, please allow me to grab my bag." As always, the pastors tone with the officers was polite yet firm. The officers were surprised at the request. "Whats in there?" they demanded, grabbing the black zippered bag Li held and ripping it open. The bag contained a blanket and a spare change of clothes, Li told them, because he had been expecting to be arrested that day.

Pastor Li had been arrested many times. Twice, police had beaten to the point that he vomited blood, and one time Li's face was beaten with his own bible. Li was warned that police were watching the village where he held his Tuesday meetings. Today, Chinese citizens can be sent to labor camps for up to three years without a formal trial.

The risks were great, but Li's bag was packed. More than having a bag packed, though, he had his mind and heart prepared. He was willing to pay any cost to preach the gospel. He was convinced God would care for him - even in prison. Readiness is a sign of commitment, are you committed to Christ?

1 Peter 4:12 - "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trail which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you."

What do Lightning bugs and humans have in common?

2009-05-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

It is their ability to produce light. What is the main purpose of the light produced by fireflies? It is to serve as a homing beacon to attract potential mates. This amazing creature God created with such a unique tool that sets it apart from other bugs. You might say well who cares about fireflies? The answer is God does. God made each of us so different from each other and yet we are all still humans that have the breath of God in us. Jesus said that we are the lights of the world. It’s funny that one of the key ingredients that allow a lightning bug to grow is oxygen. Oxygen is what we need to survive. How do we keep the light on in our house? You might say “Pay your electric bill”, although that is right for the physical, but what about the spiritual side. Can your light ever go out? The answer is no for those that know Jesus as their personal Savior. We keep our light burning hot and bright by learning about the heavenly Father every day through His written word. You might never see a lightning bug during the day but you know that they are there because when night comes they are faithfully shinning their God given lights.

It is a dark world out there and it’s not getting any brighter. God gave us homing beacons so that the lost may see us. Its time for us to let our “lights so shine before men that they might see our good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” We reflect the true light of God.

Evidence in the Sand

2009-04-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been on the beach first thing after a storm you will notice something missing. What is it? No footprints! The rain the storm brought took away any evidence that any foot had set foot on it. Storms seem to erase the footprints that we leave in life, but there are the memories of before and during the storm that stick with us. The early Christians died for the cause of Christ and many died terrible deaths. Those doing the killing thought that by killing them would squelch the cause. The storm might of erased their physical footprints but their legacy was passed on. This last Sunday we celebrated Easter. We are reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus and all that He did for us and is still doing in our lives. Christ did let the storm wash away the evidence of His life, for He entrusted it to the men that served Him and many more. Paul reminded the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 15:1) that he had preached the gospel to them and that they had received and that they could be confident that God had them secure.

Don't let storms discourage you, for we all go through them. But remember that Jesus paid the ultimate price for you, and that He doesn't want you to worry about the storms. Trust in Him. You can take cover in the Lords arms during the storm, but once the storm is gone get back out there and leave footprints in the sand.

Are you ready?

2009-04-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for Eternity? If so, are you helping other get ready for that journey into eternity that each of us must take? Are you ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you? As believers we all know we should tell others about the Lord and what he has done for us. To many times we don't take advantage of the opportunities that God is giving us. To many times we have allowed our God given senses to be turned off when an unbeliever is in our presence. Jesus said in John 7:38, "He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his heart shall flow rives of living water." We have rivers of water that flow from us that only come from the Holy Spirit. Have you become like the Colorado river that flows at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, that seems so out of reach and so hard to get to for those that are lost? We are the ones that God has given the charge of spreading the gospel.

Please watch the video below that speaker Mark Cahill gave and ask yourself what am I doing to put myself in situations of sharing the faith in Christ that we have?