Quote from Forum Archives on February 1, 2002, 11:48 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

The Bible says "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind.'[2] 38 This is the
first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it:
`Love your neighbor as yourself.'[3]

2. [37] Deut. 6:5
3. [39] Lev. 19:18" (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV)

The message today comes from an mailing list called iExalt
Insider. It offers some suggestions about how to devote
ourselves to loving God and one another, even when faced with
many other conflicting agendas that seem to permeate our lives.

As the weekend approaches, I suggest considering this message
(you might consider also reading Galatians 5 - much of the ideas
come directly out of that text) and acting upon the suggestions.
At the very least, check to see if this message really is based
on what's in the Bible.

When we establish a personal discipline of reading scripture,
praying, and remembering the things we SAY are so important, it
actually affects what DOES become important in our lives. Think
about that statement, and I encourage each of you to act upon it
in ways that matter.

Have a great weekend!

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

January 31, 2002

Just a thought.. It only takes a few seconds to open profound
wounds in persons we love, and years to heal them.

Welcome to the iExalt Insider!

Most of us know the Bible teaches that we are to devote ourselves
to loving God and loving other people...

... and we should avoid all types of actions, words or thoughts
that dishonor the Lord or hurt others. Yet, often, we find
ourselves doing wrong. Gossip or profanity just seems to slip out
of our mouth. Or we try, but can't seem to get rid of lustful or
envious thoughts. Or a situation comes up where we know we should
speak up and tell others about our Christian beliefs, but it
seems like our mouth is stuck shut. Or we know we should be
reading our Bible more, and we decided we would spend fifteen
minutes doing so each morning, but, since the first three days,
we have not opened the Bible up. Most of us pretty much know what
we are supposed to do, but that is not enough. How do we do it?

It will not be easy because the battle between the flesh and the
Spirit is one that Christians struggle with each day. The Lord
wants to help us find victory in these battles. We have the acts
of the sinful nature such as sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21) I warn you that
those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. We
can be pure as snow when it comes to our sexual behavior, totally
orthodox and sincere in our religion, never touch a drop of
alcohol, and still get caught up in terrible sins as we mistreat
other people. It is amazing how often we highlight sexual
immorality and drunkenness as indicators of an ungodly lifestyle,
yet we treat things like selfish ambition and envy as no big
deal. But, how we treat other people is also a very big deal.

So, how do we do it? How do we win the battle? First, we need to
repent daily to get rid of that sinful nature. We need to be
honest with ourselves and admit that our thoughts, words and
actions which are contrary to God's law are wrong, are sinful and
we need to repent. The second thing we need to do is keep in step
with the Spirit. If we are not spending time daily asking God for
wisdom and strength and trusting Him for it, we should not be
surprised if the fruit of the Spirit is not evident in our
lives. We need to make an effort to see that things like love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control are filling our lives. It is a
battle, but as Christians, we are going to win. Victory is
ahead. So, even when it is not fun or easy to be a Christian, may
the Lord use that truth, that hope of victory, as we keep
plodding along, following Jesus.

2001- 2002 Dan Erickson. All Rights Reserved. This resource and
over 7000 others are available at www.isermons.com

Romans 5: 1-2

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope in
the glory of God."

Pray for our nation, our leaders and our troops

Visit www.prayerweb.com to read more prayer concerns.
_____________________________________________________________

2001-2002 iExalt, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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