"Defeat is simply a signal to press onward.”
Simply Christian Teaching is a blog that can be read in conjunction with the Simply Christian page on Facebook. We are all about equipping people to thrive in this world and to honor God as they do.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Words of Wisdom - Abraham Lincoln
“All through life, be sure and put your feet in the right
place, and then stand firm.”
Welcome Spain!!!!
To our readers in Spain, we say WELCOME!!!!!
I'm so glad you have found us at Simply Christian. We post a biblical meditation six days per week and I invite you to bookmark this blog or subscribe so that you can receive the blogs daily. We are also on Facebook and I invite you to visit our page and follow us at Simply Christian. Know that I am praying for you daily. I pray for all of our readers on a daily basis.
SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!
Blessings to you.
I'm so glad you have found us at Simply Christian. We post a biblical meditation six days per week and I invite you to bookmark this blog or subscribe so that you can receive the blogs daily. We are also on Facebook and I invite you to visit our page and follow us at Simply Christian. Know that I am praying for you daily. I pray for all of our readers on a daily basis.
SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!
Blessings to you.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Words of Wisdom Series
This
week we’ll look at some powerful words from historical men and women of
influence and wisdom.
Let’s start with Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive
them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy
anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.”
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Phenomenal Resilience
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the
crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he
was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back
into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. (Acts
14:19&20)
He brought them into his house and set a meal before them,
and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. The
next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those
men go!” So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas
are free to leave. Go in peace. But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us
openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put
us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” (Acts 16:
34-37)
In the first scenario we are examining, Paul and Barnabas
were teaching the truth in Lystra and miracles happened. Those who saw the
miracles wanted to worship and offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. Paul and
Barnabas told them not to do so – that they were only men and to worship God - but they still wanted to. We pick up the story
here when others came from surrounding areas and were opposed to the work of
Paul and Barnabas. They were familiar with the followers of Christ in Antioch
and Iconium. And some were opposed to the work that God was doing through them.
So these visitors to Lystra whooped up a hostile crowd and
they stoned Paul, and thinking he was dead, they dragged his body out of town.
How hostile and uncivilized is that?!?!
But God either did not allow Paul to die or breathed life
back into him and Paul went back into the city and stayed another day! That’s
pretty gangster if you ask me. Gangster, of course, meaning Paul was hardcore
and about his business – the business of Christ. (not that he was at all
criminal)
In this second scenario, Paul & Silas had been beaten
and placed in jail because they had cast a demon out of a young woman. The
woman had a spirit by which she predicted the future and she was a slave. When
Paul casted out this demon, her owners were livid because Paul had ruined their
money-making scheme. So, as we see over and over again in scripture, they (the
enemies of God) started a ruckus, whopped up the crowd, seized Paul and Silas,
and brought them before the law keepers of that time – saying “These men are
Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful
for us Romans to accept or practice”. These magistrates are the ones who had
Paul and Silas flogged and then thrown into jail.
That night, while Paul and Silas were in jail, they were
praying and singing. The scriptures tell us that all in the jail were
listening. And at midnight, the Lord caused an earthquake and released all of
the prisoner’s restraints. When the jailer in charged realized all the
prisoners had been unrestrained, he assumed they’d escaped and he was getting
ready to kill himself. Paul told him not to do that, that they were all there.
In response, the jailer wanted to know about this God they were serving and how
he may be changed. They began to share the truth with the jailer. This is where
we pick up. The jailer took them to his home and all of his family was saved!
In verse 35, we pick the story up in the next morning as see
that Paul and Silas were back in jail and the jailer had returned to his post.
Amazing! Again, we see that Paul (and Silas, in this instance) was not deterred
by the persecution of the enemy. They returned to prison! And they continued to
speak according to the Spirit’s move in their lives.
Paul and Silas did not shy away from the persecution of the
enemy. They were all about glorifying God and loving the people He created –
regardless of how they were mistreated.
Are we like that? Serving God and loving others without
regard for how we are being hurt? That’s a tall order but we can do it.
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count
others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3&4)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For
he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just
and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your
brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles
[non-believers] do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
SUIT UP! Prayer & Fellowship
And pray
in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With
this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
(Ephesians 6:18)
Paul
concludes this particular section of admonition to the Ephesian believers by
telling them to pray. Pray all the time, in the Spirit, and for others. He even
asks in verse 19 for them to pray for him so that he may be strong and
courageous and know what to say and how to say what he is called to.
Prayer
is a critical part of our spiritual defense. By prayer, we are able to talk
with the Father, He is able to talk with us, we are strengthened, we are able
to work through the matters concerning our lives, we allow ourselves to be
vulnerable and transparent with God (and others!) through prayer, we are able
to see what is in our own hearts. Our
prayers are part of fortifying ourselves for the battle we are engaged in.
Also
[Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and
not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up). (Luke 8:1 AMP)
Further,
we looked at two scriptures regarding fellowship at the beginning of the week:
Ecclesiastes
4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of
three strands is not quickly broken.
Proverbs
27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
In
fellowship with one another, we can be strong for one another and we can help
each other to grow in our walk with God. And since the concept of fellowship is
alluded to in this passage, I believe it is worth a quick moment of focus.
We
see the perfect example of fellowship with the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit). Then we see Jesus on earth with 12 close relationships but even closer
to Peter, John, and James – His “roll dogs” if you will allow me to use a bit
of slang. Beyond that we see Jesus sending the disciples out with one another;
not alone. Once Jesus had returned to heaven, we see the Holy Spirit given to
every believer, to live in daily fellowship. And finally, we see the ministers
of the gospel living in and teaching believers to be in fellowship with one
another.
So I encourage you today to
pray, be in fellowship with other strong believers, and to SUIT UP!
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
SUIT UP! Combat Helmet & Sword
And you
will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word
of God. (Ephesians 6:17)
Regarding
our helmet, Matthew Henry says: The helmet secures the head. A good hope of
salvation, well founded and well built, will both purify the soul and keep it
from being defiled by Satan, and it will comfort the soul and keep it from
being troubled and tormented by Satan. He would tempt us to despair; but good
hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing in him.
Amen!
The
sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the only offensive weapon named in
this passage. The rest of our gear is defensive – a way of defending ourselves
against the tactics of the enemy. The Word, however, is an offensive piece of
weaponry. By the Word we are able to cut down what the enemy is attempting to
resurrect in our lives. You will remember that in Luke 4 we see Satan coming to
Jesus to tempt Him. He was tempting Him for the 40 days that Jesus was in the
wilderness, and once He completed this time of fasting, the devil made one last
unsuccessful attempt at temptation because Jesus was hungry and would have been
vulnerable. But Jesus’ response to the enemy was to speak the Word of God to
him. And we see the conclusion of this time in verse 13, which reads: And when
the devil had ended every [the complete cycle of] temptation, he [temporarily]
left Him [that is, stood off from Him] until another more opportune and
favorable time.
Let me
encourage you: brandish that sword!
SUIT UP!
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