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Showing posts from July, 2016

Weapons of Mass Distraction

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No matter how Zen, how cool, how laid back we are, it can be hard to focus on the day in front of us. Sometimes even the slightest distraction can derail our focus and our productivity. That's because we live in a busy, chaotic, fast pace world that supplies us with countless interruptions including distractions from our faith. When we become distracted from our God, we can easily become separated from Him. The writer of Proverbs 4:25 wrote: "Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions"   Honestly, distracted living reduces our over all quality of life Consider this simple approach to avoiding diversions, especially of our faith: stay focused on your previous successes and blessings and not on your past failures. Fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right and whatever is pure. The distractions around us aren't going away anytime soon. So, it’s up to us to resist the constant

It's not plagiarism, when...

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Go to church; Go to the circus; Don't confuse them... #MetroLifeChurch #minmchurch Authors often quote or paraphrase from books, papers, experts, facts and online text - all sorts of materials to help them make their points. But you have to give credit where it is due = I wish I could take credit for these recommendations, I can not... "Let Christ inform all of life Don't be a religious cliche' Be real human being Belong to the human race Belong to the woods Belong to the city Go for long walks Appreciate art Learn to play an instrument Cultivate a culinary skill Read War and Peace Laugh more than you do Weep now and then Listen to live jazz Pray Eat a peach Do something silly Go dancing Stop judging Start loving Plant a garden Climb a mountain Memorize a poem Learn some astronomy Become a bee-keeper Go back to college Take up a hobby Make a new friend Read the Bible In a new translation Get

Do all dogs go to heaven?

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If unconditional love, loyalty, and obedience are the tickets to heaven and an eternal life with my creator, then my Corgi, Zoe, will surely be there long before me. Developing a closer relationship with God is an admirable goal and reflects a heart that is truly reborn - those who are in Christ have a closer relationship with God. Another key of getting closer to God is found in the character of Moses. Moses hungered for God. He longed for God. Moses realized that nothing else in the world could compare to the experience of being with God. Moses had a passion for His presence. Do you? But we must also understand that in this life we will never be as close to God as we think, nor will we be as far away as we sometimes feel. Pray with me: O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more of you. I am painfully aware of my need for more of your grace. Keep me from being distracted; teach me how to draw near to you with a si

Losing My Religion

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Some say only one religion leads to God; others say all religions lead to God. If we aren’t careful I think our religion can lead us away from God. Look no further than the religious world Jesus entered at the crèche and follow His encounters to the cross. Lots of spiritual people but so little love, so little understanding, so little tolerance. Folks then, like now, heard the Scriptures but didn’t really listen or apply them. It was like they had truths stored up in their brains but weren’t putting them to a productive use . Reflect on this: your religion, your faith, must be lived out every day: see those not like you with “kingdom eyes” Love, be authentic, step out, engage and tirelessly give back. Just a reflective thought…Pkes #MetroLifeChurch #minmchurch

Confetti

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God makes confetti out of our titles and accomplishments to celebrate the poor and the humble.  #minmchurch #MetroLifeChurch

My God!

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He is not an Episcopalian, not a Catholic, not a Baptist, not an Evangelical. His politics are not left leaning nor do they hedge to the right. H e will outlast Mt Rushmore; He is not represented by a bald eagle but a descending dove.  <@> Every nation has churches that are shaped by their society’s cultural values and by the political landscape of the day. America is no different. But we must always remember that the God of the Scriptures is the God of one ideology, His. He is the God to the poor and stranger(s), Lev 19:10 . God, residing in his holy dwelling is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, Ps 68:5 . He also preserves the stranger [foreigner]. Ps 146:9 I love America, my country - I’m committed to liberty and justice for all. But much too much of the church is reflecting the ugliness of our age rather than the beauty of the risen Christ. Pray with me: Lord, save us from ourselves. In your great mercy, restore and heal each of