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Having an Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in all things give thanks, for this is the desirous will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Often times we think of thankfulness in regard to things that are good. We are thankful when life is going the way we would like, when we are at peace, and when, for the most part, life is wholesome. What about the difficult times in our lives or the problematic people? Should we be thankful for them? Why would God want a saint to have a mind that is thankful for all situations?

Having an attitude of gratitude comes from knowing who we are in Christ, what God expects of us, and how God controls the situations in our lives to bring about His glory.

What is the purpose of our life? Before we were saved, our focus was to fulfill the desires of the flesh. But now it is to glorify God. We glorify God by a life that manifests His opinion of who we are in Christ. By setting our minds on God’s opinion of us and living according to His view of us, we can be thankful in any situation because when we are loving God, He will work out any situation to our benefit to make us happy; a true happiness that can only come from living a life that enjoys all the benefits of who we are in Christ.

If we are not thankful, it is because our mind is not focused on the things of the Spirit, but rather on the things of the flesh. Having an attitude of gratitude is not being happy all the time. We can be displeased about something but still be thankful.

Difficulties in our lives expose who […]

Having an Attitude of Gratitude2013-02-14T06:19:00-08:00

Faith – Taking God at His Word

Romans 1:16, 17 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of the Christ for it is the inherent ability of God unto salvation to all the ones believing, both the Jew first, and Greeks, for the righteousness of God is revealed by it out from faith into faith just as it is written, “The righteous will live out from faith”.

Faith – Taking God at His Word (Faith is the substance of that which is hoped for, the evidence of accomplished deeds not seen)

What does it mean to live by faith? Since faith is always based upon a promise from God, when we live by faith, we live according to what God has said. Faith is not blind, so living a life out from faith is not a blind leap; rather, it is a life that takes full advantage of the benefits that God has so graciously provided for the believer who is in Christ.

When we believed the Gospel for salvation, a new life began for us. Now, we are no longer in Adam; rather, we are in Christ. As part of our salvation, we know that God has promised that we will one day be with Him in a state of blamelessness and purity; however, what about today?

Does the fact that we are in Christ affect our lives today? Oh, we know that it should, but how?

Framing our minds on who we are in Christ is not positive thinking, it is acknowledging facts that are true and therefore seeing things as they really are, which will result in having a correct frame of mind. Since we are in Christ, let us put on Christ as an outer garment and make no provision […]

Faith – Taking God at His Word2016-10-12T06:02:46-07:00

The Complete Thing- 1 Corinthians 13:10

The Complete Thing

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 The love never falls, but whether prophecy, it will be caused to be idle1, whether languages,2 they will cause themselves to cease3, whether knowledge, it will be caused to be idle. For out from a part we experientially know and out from a part we prophecy, but when the complete thing comes, then what is out from a part will be caused to be idle. When I was a baby4, I spoke as a baby, I thought as a baby. When I became a man, I made the things of the baby idle. For now I see through a mirror obscurely, but then face to face. Now I experientially know out from a part, but then I will be fully experientially know just as I am fully known.

Paul speaks of a day when the Church will no longer require the use of the Spiritual gifts of prophecy, languages5, and knowledge. When the full Word of God comes, He will stop giving revelation; therefore, prophecy will become idle. Languages, or better known as speaking in tongues, will cause themselves to stop existing because the purpose for speaking in another language ceases to exist. Speaking in another language was a sign to the Jews. It is no longer active since the Jewish nation has fully rejected Jesus and the Church6.  Paul explains what knowledge he is referring to further down in the context where he states that the knowledge comes from only a partial revelation. Paul did not have the full cannon of Scripture at this time. He only had access to the Old Testament. Although he was involved […]

The Complete Thing- 1 Corinthians 13:102018-10-28T13:26:19-07:00

Stewardship and Dispensations: The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία

Stewardship and Dispensations:

The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία

The sixty-six books of the Bible span thousands of years of human history and beyond. They begin before God created man and end with the creation of new heavens and a new earth where righteousness settles down and feels at ease[1]. Within the pages of the Bible, we see changes in God’s relationship and standard for mankind and the failure of mankind to live up to God’s expectation, which ultimately brings judgment. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was not allowed to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil[2]. Upon eating the fruit from this tree, his spirit was separated from God[3], he became subject to physical death, and he was expelled from the garden[4]. Having been expelled from the garden, God’s expectation for humans was for them to properly govern the manner of their lives by the knowledge of good and evil, now that they possessed it. However, again, men failed, and God judged the earth by bringing a flood[5]. After the flood, God instructed Noah that men are to govern themselves and that capital punishment is to be implemented[6]. Again, men fail to follow God’s instruction, reject God, and seek their own way. Therefore, God brought judgment and forced man to separate and spread across the earth[7]. This judgment brought about multiple languages and the division of the continents, which caused man to spread out across the earth[8].  Having scattered man across the face of the earth, God then approaches Abram and ultimately offers him four covenants[9]. These covenants included a promise of land that Abraham and his descendants […]

Stewardship and Dispensations: The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία2024-09-08T17:47:28-07:00

Desiring to Live Godly (Manifesting God’s Quality of Life)

2 Timothy 3:12 and indeed, all the ones desiring to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Living a life that expresses godliness is such a wonderful thought; however, this type of lifestyle can bring persecution into our lives. When persecution comes to mind, we tend to think of physical suffering. However, the word “persecution” comes from a Greek word that also has the meaning of “pursue” or “harass”, along with causing on to run or flee. It has both good and bad meanings, that is, we can pursue something good such as peace. We as Christians are to pursue peace among ourselves, maturity in Christ, the mark of the price of the upward call of God in Christ, doing that which makes others happy not just for other Christians but for all people, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness, fighting the good fight of the faith. On the other hand, we can suffer persecution; both physical and mental suffering caused by another. When we even desire to pursue a life of Godliness, the bad side of persecution is coming our way. At the very least we will be harassed by those who do not want to see God’s quality of life that we are living out.

In addition, persecution not only comes from other people, our three enemies can cause persecution also. Anytime we choose to live a life that glorifies God over doing something that lacks in character we have an internal battle. Within our minds, there is a battle for the control of our thoughts. Do we give in and focus on the flesh, or take the way of escape and continue to live godly?

There are periods in our lives when the […]

Desiring to Live Godly (Manifesting God’s Quality of Life)2013-02-06T20:59:12-08:00
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