"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
~1 Peter 2:2-3
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thought for today - 05/31/10
Sunday, May 30, 2010
WEEKLY PRAYER FOCUS - 05/31/10
WEEKLY PRAYER FOCUS
"Love your neighbor as yourself." When Jesus Christ was asked what were the greatest commandments in the Law, He said to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind and with all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. Last week we talked about the first of these, loving God.
"Love your neighbor as yourself." When Jesus Christ was asked what were the greatest commandments in the Law, He said to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind and with all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. Last week we talked about the first of these, loving God.
To love your neighbor as yourself means to act and think toward your neighbor in such a way that brings about their highest good. The Bible says we are to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, how would you like to be treated? Treat others that same way.
Would you like to be forgiven? Forgive others. Would you like to be treated with kindness and love? Treat others with kindness and love. Would you like to have others be patient with you? Be patient with them.
God's love is unconditional. He loves sinners (all of us have sinned) and He makes His sun to shine on the just and the unjust. So think of someone you can bless. Don't love only your family, or those who love you. Jesus taught us to love even our enemies, for then we would be children of our Father who is in heaven.
God loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Let us ask God to give us His love for everyone around us.
So, this week, let us pray and ask God to:
- Help us love someone in our lives who has caused us difficulty
- Give us a vision to reach the world for Jesus Christ
- Protect God's people in His great love
THANK YOU so much for your prayers. You are part of a large and growing group of brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.
May God bless you.
Frank Coleman
PathOfLifeMinistries.org
Thought for today - 05/30/10
"Jeremiah made the right decision and as a result became one of the most unpopular prophets in Jewish history. Measured by human standards, his ministry was a failure, but measured by the will of God, he was a great success. It isn't easy to stand alone, to resist the crowd, and to be out of step with the philosophies and values of the times. Jeremiah lived like that for 40 years."
~Warren Wiersbe
Saturday, May 29, 2010
HOW DO WE ASSESS SPIRITUAL GROWTH?
HOW DO WE ASSESS SPIRITUAL GROWTH?
An interview with Dallas Willard
Q: How can churches know if they are being effective at making disciples?
A: Many churches are measuring the wrong things. We measure things like attendance and giving, but we should be looking at more fundamental things like anger, contempt, honesty, and the degree to which people are under the thumb of their lusts. Those things can be counted, but not as easily as offerings.
Q: Why don't more churches gauge these qualities among their people?
A: First of all, many leaders don't want to measure these qualities because what they usually discover is not worth bragging about. We'd rather focus on institutional measures of success. Secondly, we must have people who are willing to be assessed in these ways. And finally, we need the right tools to measure spiritual formation. There are some good tools available like Randy Frazee's Christian Life Profile and Monvee.com, which John Ortberg likes.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2010/spring/weassessspiritual.html
Blessings to you.
Min. Frank Coleman
www.PathOfLifeMinistries.org
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Frank's Desk - 05/24/10
From The Desk of Min. Frank Coleman
Monday May 24, 2010
Today's "Thought For Today" gives rise to an earlier conversation I posed about giving and the "church" today.
We have been "bam-boozled" by the established "church" into committing a percentage of our income to them when there is no biblical support for that practice by new testament believers. (see my post "Cursed with a Curse?" http://pathoflife.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/cursed-with-a-curse/)
We need to study the scriptures for ourselves to get a grasp on what God is telling his body of believers. "Religion" will ensnare us with rules and regulations that God never intended for us.
I repeat:
"Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, 'He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'"
~2 Corinthians 9:7-9
Are you giving (tithing, offering, "gifts of love" etc.) reluctantly? Are you under "compulsion" with the fear of a "curse" hanging over your head? Are you happy ("cheerful"), at the ability of sharing ("giving") what you have with others?
Only you can answer these questions.
Read the entire book of Malachi (last book of the Old Testament). Pray for the understanding. Who is this book written to? When was it written? What were the circumstances that surrounded its writing?
I am convinced that when you approach reading God's word this way, you will understand the "heart" of God for you.
Remember:
"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
2 Co. 3:6
The Spirit Giveth Life. Don't get caught-up with the doctrines of man.
"(Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?" Col 2:21-22
Sincerely,
Min. Frank Coleman
http://www.pathoflifeministries.org
All comments and links in this publication reflect the sole opinion of Frank Coleman
Today's "Thought For Today" gives rise to an earlier conversation I posed about giving and the "church" today.
We have been "bam-boozled" by the established "church" into committing a percentage of our income to them when there is no biblical support for that practice by new testament believers. (see my post "Cursed with a Curse?" http://pathoflife.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/cursed-with-a-curse/)
We need to study the scriptures for ourselves to get a grasp on what God is telling his body of believers. "Religion" will ensnare us with rules and regulations that God never intended for us.
I repeat:
"Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, 'He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'"
~2 Corinthians 9:7-9
Are you giving (tithing, offering, "gifts of love" etc.) reluctantly? Are you under "compulsion" with the fear of a "curse" hanging over your head? Are you happy ("cheerful"), at the ability of sharing ("giving") what you have with others?
Only you can answer these questions.
Read the entire book of Malachi (last book of the Old Testament). Pray for the understanding. Who is this book written to? When was it written? What were the circumstances that surrounded its writing?
I am convinced that when you approach reading God's word this way, you will understand the "heart" of God for you.
Remember:
"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
2 Co. 3:6
The Spirit Giveth Life. Don't get caught-up with the doctrines of man.
"(Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?" Col 2:21-22
Sincerely,
Min. Frank Coleman
http://www.pathoflifeministries.org
All comments and links in this publication reflect the sole opinion of Frank Coleman
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Thought for today - 05/29/10
John Sutherland Bonnell, the great preacher of a generation ago, suggested 5 questions that are useful in evaluating Christian effectiveness and commitment. Look closely at them to judge your strengths and weaknesses as a disciple of Christ.
- Does my life witness each day to the power of the risen Christ?
- Does my faith in Christ affect the quality of my daily living, so that there adheres to it a nobility and moral strength?
- Is there anything in my life that reminds men and women of the Master to whom I have pledged my allegiance?
- Is there any discernable difference at all in my life as contrasted with the lives of those who never acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Savior? (See Matthew 5:46-48)
- Do I manifest in the midst of this fevered generation a serenity of spirit which reveals that the peace of God is dwelling in my heart?
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