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Showing posts with the label Genuine

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Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.  (Matthew 23:11-12 ) If I use  BOLD  or red font in my post, I am doing so because I want those particular words to "stand out".  If I were to parade down the sidewalk wearing all black, emblazoned with all kinds of chains and tattoos would you think I might be trying to "stand out" a little from the gal or guy next to me?  When a company wants to gain the market share of business, they spend a whole lot of money on trying to find the "brand" which will make them "stand out" as the one to trust.  The purpose of "standing out" is usually to call attention to, think of first and foremost, be the "go to" in your life.  Jesus tells his disciples something entirely different about being the "go to" in life - "standing out...

No cover-up required

God isn't looking for us to have it all together in worship before him - he is just looking for us to be ourselves and to be together in the worship of him! Our worship has to engage our spirit - and it has to be genuine. It is impossible to have a truthfully 'engaged spirit' if we are not truthfully ourselves in spending time with Jesus. Jesus was never looking for the 'polished' and 'perfect' in his ministry - he always engaged with those who were far from perfect and mostly those who were 'dirtied' by their pasts. “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”  John 4:24 MSG If I were to ask you who y...

Now, that's the 'real deal'

Today you will hear someone exclaim - that's the real deal - referring to something that is genuine, not fake, the real thing. Back in the day, Coca-Cola used "real-thing" to describe their soda. They were trying to establish that their 'cola' was the genuine cola - none comparing to the taste you'd find in opening a bottle of Coca-Cola. Let me just say, there is ONE "real deal" in this lifetime - it is Jesus. He is the "real thing" - the genuine article. He is not just another "thing" to be worshiped, but the only way into true and everlasting life - the 'real-deal' that connects us to God the Father. Try as some might, there is no 'counterfeit religion' that will do the same thing! The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want h...

Content to be myself

There are a whole bunch of ways we can find which make us "stand out" in a crowd, huh?  We could dress in some stunning manner, or in tattered jeans laden with chains - each attracts attention - just for different reasons!  We could sing with lovely melody, never missing a note - or croon out a song which only "resembles" what the writer had in mind!  One gets our applause, the other causes us to cringe and at best, offer a "false" accolade.  Jesus was talking to his disciples one day, using the Pharisees and religious leaders of the time as an example of trying to "stand out" - just for the wrong reasons! Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. (Matthew 23:11-12 The Message) He spent a great deal of time in the first ten verses of this chapter outlining just how much "atte...

Authentic Community

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19  Take your stand with God's loyal community and live,     or chase after phantoms of evil and die.  (Proverbs 11:19 The Message) This past week our Pastor presented three key components of a life that is "growing" - learning from our Life Experiences , Applying God's Word into our lives, and being involved in Authentic Community .  Today, I'd like to build upon the idea of Authentic Community.  As we think about those that we "stand" with on a daily basis, we have to examine the "value" of those relationships in comparison to the other two key components.  In other words, I think that when our associations are regularly into the Word of God and involved in applying that direction to their life experiences, they are a pretty solid group to "stand" with!  When this is not the priority, it may be like we are chasing after phantoms of evil that will result in life experiences we'd rather avoid and no real authenticity because we...

Peacocks Beware

18  First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. (Proverbs 16:18) 12  Pride first, then the crash, but humility is precursor to honor. (Proverbs 18:12) 16  Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice. (Psalm 51:16) Ever notice just how many times the Bible speaks about pride?  I put only three passages here, but you get the gist.  God takes our attitude about our self and others quite seriously.  He knows the danger of being too big for our own good! Pride is pretty much having an opinion of your importance, merit, or superiority that is not always in proportion to our true importance, merit, or superiority!  We think more of ourselves than we do others.  The fact is, we all struggle with pride in one way or another.  It m...